Local Acceptability on Organic Farming in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia

Abstract

Recently, in Kampong Cham Province of Cambodia, subsistence agriculture is being converted to commercial mono-culture, and the amounts of agricultural chemicals applied to farmlands are increasing every year. There seem to be many cases in which people apply agricultural chemicals without understanding the impact on health and food safety. It is necessary to promote and enhance understanding of sustainable agriculture among local people including farmers. So, this study dealt with the evaluation of local farmers’ acceptability on organic agriculture based on the participatory level. The extension activities, such as promoting sustainable agriculture through demonstrating how to make compost box and compost, leader training for their deeper perception on sustainable agriculture, and conducting workshops on sustainable agriculture through composting, were implemented in 2007. In the initial stage of the extension activities, farmers’ participation was evaluated as Level 3, participation by consultation, as the farmers participated by answering the questions. Also in 2008, following activities were implemented; introducing the farmers how to make pellet compost, initiating 4 model organic farms, leader training on making bio-pesticide and conducting workshops on sustainable agriculture through applying pellet compost. In addition to the extension activities, the surveys by interview and questionnaire for evaluating local farmers’ acceptability on organic agriculture were implemented occasionally. Through a series of the extension activities, the farmers’ participation was evaluated as Level 5, functional participation, as the farmers participated by forming the groups to meet the predetermined objectives of the extension project. According to the results of evaluating local farmers’ acceptability on organic agriculture based on the participatory level, it was considered that building local farmers’ confident through various extension activities is the most important key to increase local acceptability.