Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) signs Memorandum of Agreement during the Executive Board Meeting

On March 9th, 2022, the Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) conducted their first Executive Board meeting for the year 2022, to discuss the first-semester progress and the work plan for CASIC’s second semester. The meeting was led byH.E. Dr. Chan Saruth, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Chair of CASIC Executive Board and comprehensively discussed collaboration, innovations as well as the experience sharing of implementing partners. During the meeting, CASIC also signed aMemorandum of Agreement with Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN), CIRAD and Swisscontact.  

The formation of the Cambodia Conservation Agriculture Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) was formally approved by HE Minister Veng Sakhon, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), through a decision letter on 21st May 2020.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) initiatives in Cambodia have been focused primarily on cropping system design, soil fertility assessment, agricultural engineering, rather than commercial practices. In recent years, commercial practices have been promoted in this area. CASIC will further augment the current work by bringing together other stakeholders and to make CA more accessible to farmers through the market actors offering the services.

Based on the MOA, CASIC, CE SAIN, CIRAD and Swisscontact aims to stimulate private entrepreneurs, agricultural machinery manufacturers and importers, agribusiness retailers and service providers, smallholder farmers, and public institutions in Cambodia, to shift agricultural mechanization from conventional soil degrading a production system to profitable soil and ecosystem enhancing Conservation Agriculture ProductionSystem (CAPS). Both organizations aim to also create an enabling environment for Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification (CA/SI) in Cambodia while at the same time turn Cambodia into a center of excellence for CA/SI in the region.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Royal University of Agriculture (Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Faculty of Agricultural Science), GeneralDirectorate of Agriculture, Department of Extension Agriculture Forestry andFisheries, Department of Agriculture Land Resource Management, Department ofAgriculture Engineering, Food and Agriculture Organization, CIRAD and Swisscontact.  

CASIC is a result of the untiring efforts to promoteconservative agriculture practice from various institutions who are alsorepresented on the executive board, namely, General Directorate of Agriculture,Department of Agricultural Land Resources Management, Department of AgricultureEngineering, Department of Extension, Cambodia Agricultural Research andDevelopment Institution (CARDI), Royal University of Agriculture (Faculty ofAgricultural Engineering & Faculty of Agricultural Science), the Centre ofExcellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN),CIRAD, Swisscontact as well as the Kansas State University.

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