Adopting New Net House Technology

Tasei AC’s Net House Exercise Yields a Rewarding Business Enterprise 

Cambodia’s horticulture sector faces a set of complex challenges, from extreme temperatures and water stress to pest and disease management. Farmers are impacted by drought and flooding, plant damage from high temperatures and pest outbreaks, and though these difficulties constrain agricultural output, Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II and its farmers see opportunities to pursue and test alternate production techniques.

Net housing is an innovative approach to farming, which creates a natural barrier between crops and a sometimes harsh environment: providing shade, reducing heat, controlling plant development, and preventing insect access. This farming method promotes increased yields with minimal pesticide use and provides protection from extreme weather, facilitating off-season production. 

As Tasei Samaki Agriculture Cooperative (Tasei AC) experienced production constraints, members undertook a unique plan of action, opting to experiment with net housing food production. In September 2019, Tasei AC began with 7 net houses, and after recognizing the benefits of this novel technique first-hand, have expanded production to include 30 net houses, each approximately 10 m. x 30 m.

Harvest II collaborated with an input dealer Song Mouy to invite an expert from Thailand to introduce and advise Tasei AC members about crops appropriate for net houses, as well as production techniques.

In addition to net housing, seed selection and proper fertilizer use can help further improve yields. Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II connected Tasei AC to Song Mouy, a reputable input dealer in Battambang to help him choose the right seeds. Song Muoy in collaboration with Harvest II invited an expert from Thailand to further advise Tasei AC on successful net housing crops, raising seedlings, land preparation and other production techniques.  In addition, Harvest II connected Tasei AC to grantee Husk Ventures to use husk biochar which helps regenerate the soil and grow healthier crops. These connections led to increased yields and quality, as well as expanded markets.

Throughout construction of the net housing, some of Tasei AC’s members observed and learned the construction process from the professional builder. Applying this knowledge, they began offering construction of net housing at a more economical price than a professional builder. They officially launched their new enterprise in May 2020, providing building services to AC members and other farmers.

Tasei AC has built 30 net houses so far and aims to complete construction of 100 net houses by the end of this year.  Mr. Muy Veasna, a 21-year old AC member shared, “Last year, the AC had only 9 net houses and I got just one but now we have 30 net houses and most members including myself have 3 net houses.”

Mr. Muy Veasna is using husk biochar to improve his production in this net house.

Harvest II worked closely with Tasei AC to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to encourage the adoption of safe vegetable cultivation under net house production by other producers. Initial findings suggest that if farmers invest about $2,500 in a net house, they can recoup the investment after five to six crop cycles. The production technique provides the opportunity for year-round production, ensuring consistent supply and reduced pesticide usage and improving food safety for consumers and boosting product diversification.

Experiencing the benefits of net housing, Tasei AC, in collaboration with Harvest II, promotes alternatives to continue developing the local vegetable production system and showcase the technology to other farmers. Through adopting innovative solutions and working together, the horticulture sector in Cambodia creates more opportunities for producers, buyers and consumers alike.

A New Joint Venture in Fruit Processing

Links between farmers, a wholesaler, processor, and international buyer yield an opportunity for growth

Cambodia’s Pursat oranges are gaining recognition as the sweet and flavorful fruit gains favor in international markets. The oranges are marked by their unique green skin when ripe and have sweet, yellow center.

Khun Sopheap, an orange collector and producer in Pursat province, partnered with the Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II project some years ago to address challenges faced during the dry season. He worked closely with Harvest II to establish and strengthen contract agreements with his producers and connected with an agro-input firm to custom-design a water management system for his farm. After installing the system, the daily watering during the dry season created a continuous orange harvest, providing a more stable year-round supply.

Harvest II has been working with Pursat-based orange buyer Mr. Khun Sopheap to improve production by connecting with input firms and conducting exposure visits, formalizing agreements with producers, as well as connecting to a fruit processor Misota. 

Knowing the value of the year-round supply, Harvest II connected Sopheap to a local fruit processor in Battambang, Misota Food Import Export Co. Ltd. After Misota conducted a site visit to Mr. Sopheap’s farm, they ordered 500 kg of fresh oranges to perform product trials. The two parties worked together testing product quality, reliability of the supply chain, the quality of processed samples, all to ensure the viability of the partnership.  After finding success processing the product, Misota began ordering 10 tons of fresh oranges to process into dried oranges to conduct market surveys. Misota has displayed and evaluated the product at exhibitions, trade fairs and other events and observed a strong public interest.

Showcasing their new products at exhibitions, trade fairs and other events provides Misota the opportunity to gain insights into customer preferences.

Recognizing the success of the collaboration, Misota and Mr. Sopheap agreed to a joint-venture investment, budgeting 150,000 USD (50% each) as cash advances to ten orange producers in Pursat province. The activities will help Mr. Sopheap scale up supply, providing working capital to producers.  The agreement secures needed quantity and quality of supply for Misota and creates value added for a local product. 

“I am very excited to join the partnership with Misota, and I am proud that I can fulfill my dream. I dreamed Cambodian oranges would be able to be processed into value-added products like dried orange and orange juice for the local and international market. This adds another chapter to the story of Cambodian oranges.” shared Mr. Sopheap.

A meeting among key mango market actors facilitated by Harvest II, and supported by Kirirom Food Production’s business network, created the opportunity for Harvest II to match Misota to Japan Farm Products (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., a Japanese company looking to export dried fruit to Japanese markets. The company conducted a site visit to Misota’s factory to observe processing and factory standards, subsequently providing technical staff to train the Misota team, share processing techniques and teach factory management in order to meet Japan’s high-quality standards. 

Following the training, Japan Farm Products imported 15 tons of Japanese mandarin to Misota’s factory, and after processing, the product was packaged and exported back to Japan. Japan Farm Products plans to export other dried fruit from Misota, including orange, pineapple and mango. This exercise proved to be successful and provides Misota avenues to expand its current core activity of fruit processing, as well as adding benefits to producers like Mr. Sopheap.

The linking together of key actors and building on that relationship strengthened the supply chain, addressed product quality, fostered trust and provided a joint investment opportunity to accelerate growth and development across the national horticulture sector and expansion to international markets.