Two day workshop to promote sustainable agriculture and food systems in Cambodia

With the support of the ASEAN CSR Network (ACN), the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University (ECI) organised a two-day workshop from 3rd to 4th December.

Around 26 participants, with more than half coming from the private sector, attended the workshop which focused on the key drivers of change for the agricultural and food systems in Cambodia in the next 10 years.

It was highly interactive and the participants developed a comprehensive framework on sustainable food systems in Cambodia and recommended 11 steps to leverage businesses towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.

CICP Chairman and Constitutional Council Member HRH Prince Norodom Sirivudh, UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) Country Representative Wan-Hea Lee, and ACN Programme Director Jerry Bernas spoke at the opening of the workshop to highlight the importance of engaging with the private sector.

CICP 2015 
Delegates having a discussion during the workshop 

Agriculture is a driving economic force in Cambodia, with 80 per cent of the population engaged in agriculture and the sector contributes 33 percent to the country's GDP. 

Cambodia is also one of the top 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change within ASEAN. In a world that has to feed over 9 billion people by 2050, ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture forms a core part of national socio-economic concerns.

Cambodian agriculture is in transition but offers opportunities to work closely with the private sector especially those involved in the production, processing, transport, branding, and trading of food as well as the consumer sector.

The  interest  in  Corporate  Social  Responsibility  (CSR) is  growing  in Cambodia as demonstrated by the newly formed CSR Platform Cambodia led by Oxfam this year. ACN is supporting both the CSR Platform Cambodia and CICP. The CICP project is a recipient of ACN’s ASEAN CSR Vision 2020 Small Grants Fund.