Rural Assistance Program Prey Veng (RAP), Cambodia

A short history of our Rural Assistance Program ( RAP)

When we started our Rural Assistance Program in January 1999, our initial target area was plagued with hunger and extreme poverty. Most of the farmers there grew only a single annual crop of rainy season rice. After planting their rice in the Spring and harvesting it in November or December, nearly all of the adult males and most of the adult females who did not have small children at home, would desert their villages and travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia,  in search of work as construction laborers.

Thankfully and due in large part to the success of our RAP program, living conditions in the three districts which are our target area, have improved dramatically over the past 18 years. Our program provided subsistance farmers not only agricultural education  through our green farming initiative but also installed approximately 500 water wells that gave more than  2000  families access to a reliable source of water. Now, we rarely see serious hunger there. However, many of our farmers still produce only enough to feed their families with little or nothing left to sell. Consequently, some of them have no meaningful cash income other than what they can earn by deserting their farms to do backbreaking work as day  laborers in the city, earning only about  $5.00 per day.

Our newest initiative, the Moringa Project,  which we discussed in our last update, is aimed at helping our farmers to remain on their farms throughout the year while earning cash income to supplement their agricultural output.

The Moringa Project

Mark returned from Asia just  yesterday, so we are pleased to be able to  give you an  update of our moringa project.

This new initiative is centered on promotion of moringa farming for a select group of fifty farmers. Our partner organization in the field recently made a multi-year contract with a moringa processor in Phnom Penh. 

Program highlights:

• Our farmers will be guaranteed a buyer and a fixed price for their moringa leaves.
• Participating farmers are required to use only organic farming techniques for their moringa.
• Our program will provide the seeds.
• We have employed a new graduate of the Royal University of Agriculture to work with and mentor our farmers.
• Mentoring should help farmers to maximize the moringa output and proactively address problems such as pests or poor yields.

Water is critical to the success of this project

Of the fifty farmers selected to pioneer this effort, forty already have water wells on their farms. We hope to sponsor 10 wells (estimated at $280 per well) for  the ten farmers without wells so that they can fully participate in this exciting new effort.

Where we are now

As of the date of this report, about ten of our farmers have already planted their first moringa crops. The new moringa plants should be ready for pruning after about six months from the date of planting and then the plants will be pruned again on a rotating basis every two or three months thereafter.

Diversification is a critically important part of our Rural Assistance Program

 From the start of our RAP program in 1999, we placed a strong emphasis on the benefits of crop diversity. This new moringa program is only intended to be a supplement to our farmers’ existing efforts.

However, if successfully cultivated, a small moringa field can bring our farmers meaningful cash income. For some of our farmers, this will be the first time in their lives that their small farms provided them with not only food for their families but significant cash income. Hopefully, the cash income will enough for many of our farmers to discontinue the practice of leaving their farms to work as construction laborers in Phnom Penh and instead be able to stay at home with their families on the farm.

Explanation of photos

Photo # 1 The moringa field shown in the photo above is approximately 1/10 of a hectare (approximately ¼ acre). It was planted in early January and, once the plants mature and are ready for pruning (about six months after planting), our team expects that this field alone, if properly tended, could produce cash income of more than $2,000.00 per year for the farmer and his family. Put differently, if successful, our moringa program will provide farmers with cash income comparable to what they might have otherwise earned from working as laborers in Phnom Penh.

Photo # 2:  Farmer B. Rey (right) and B. Sophal, our team’s moringa advisor, stand in B.Rey’s new moringa field.

We are very excited by the prospect of providing our farmers with an alternative to the dangerous, backbreaking and rather poorly paid work in Phnom Penh so that they can remain throughout the year, productively employed on their own farms.

Please join our  call to action!

We remain grateful to you, our generous donors  for your support. Our donors have been and will continue to be vital to the success of this program, especially for our 10 farmers lacking wells. Please consider whether your community, school or church group might be willing to sponsor a well and by doing so, change lives or   if the "gift" of a well might be a wonderful way to celebrate a milestone.

Thank you,

Barbara & Mark Rosasco

During Mark's visit to Cambodia and Prey Veng in early September, he met together with our long time local friends and "development partner" to  continue ongoing discussions on how to provide economic opportunities to our farmers in this remote area of Cambodia.

Once such possible  collarboration involved a small "moringa" processing and distribution company in Phnom Penh.  The general  idea was that the moringa company could  make a contract with our farmers to purchase a certain quantity of moringa leaves each month and, with that guaranteed market for their leaves and their ability to access water  with the wells which we provide and  that we could , hopefully,  continue to provide in the future, the farmers can plant many moringa seedlings around their homesteads. One  additional advantage of adding  moringa as an additional crop to the traditional  annual  rainy season rice crop that is the mainstay of farming in Prey Veng,   is that (organically grown)  moringa leaves are in such demand that the farmers could get  a real boost to their cash incomes while further diversifying away from dependence on a single crop of  rice.

Now,  as we fast approach the end of  2016, we are about to launch this  exciting new initiative together with our  local partner, Mohaleap Development Association. In keeping with our longstanding goal of promoting chemical free farming and improving the incomes of farmers in our target area, we  will recruit some of our farmers to plant moringa around their homesteads and in their vegetable gardens.    

This has the potential to be a real " game changer" for our farmers by boosting their incomes.

What is  moringa? Moringa is a very popular dietary supplement in many countries and regions of the world. Moringa contains proteins, vitamins, and minerals. As an antioxidant,  it is thought to potentially  help protect cells from damage.

We have now  made an agreement to sell the moringa harvest of our farmers to a local processor of moringa products with the understanding that all of our moringa leaves will be organically grown. 

The initial group will include about fifty farmers.  On average, each farmer is expected to plant about five hundred moringa seedlings around his/her homestead and vegetable garden. After about six months, the plants should reach a height of about 0.5 to 0.7 meters and the first leaves can be harvested. The initial harvest is expected to yield about 0.3 to 0.5 kilograms per plant and the farmers will receive about U.S. $0.25 per kilo of leaves. From the initial planting of about 500 seedlings, we expect each farmer will harvest 150kg to 250kg in the first year but, in subsequent years, as the plants reach maturity, those same 500 plants should yield up to 3,000 kg of moringa leaves providing our farmers with cash income of approximately $750 per year.

For most of our farmers, an additional income of $750 per year will be a considerable windfall and, with that money, they can make important improvements to their farms and to the welfare of their families.

The moringa plants can be expected to provide a good yield for about five years so we are excited at the prospect that this new program will provide our farmers with a guaranteed price for their moringa leaves resulting in a significant boost to their incomes.

Keeping young seedlings of any kind alive and flourishing throughout the year will require a well to insure a stable supply of water.  Kasumisou Foundation is hoping to sponsor the drilling of new wells for farmers who do not yet have a well,   at an approximate cost of $ 270 per well.  Key to the success of  each farmer for this new initiative,  will be his ability to access a reliable  supply of water .

Each year since 2001 we have driiled water wells, totaling more than 450  wells to date which provide a reliable supply of water for thousands of people. These well often serve not only the farmer but also  their neighbors. Finding sponsors for the  new water wells will be a critical part of the long term success of this program and we are hopeful that our donors can see how a modest investment in a well can help a farmer work toward a significantly better life for his family.

GlobalGiving Match Day on November 29

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is providing  $500,000 in matching funds on Tuesday, November 29. Your donation to Kasumisou Foundation's Rural Assistance Program of any amount up to $1000 is elibigle to receive a 50% matching donation from the Gates Foundation.  Please join us and support our efforts  by  helping to fund  new wells and build  a new future  for our farmers.  

 We are deeply grateful to you,  our donors for your  continued support.

Barbara & Mark Rosasco