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In 2006, several international development programs and local NGOs, which were promoting sustainable farming, initiated the Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA). COrAA sees itself as an association of individuals, food processors, retailers, plantation owners, farmers cooperatives and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) committed to the promotion of organic agriculture. The objectives include advising members, providing certification as well as informing consumers and the lobbying of the government. In addition, the NGO CEDAC plays an important role. CEDAC began to trade organic rice about ten years ago and initiated the trading company SAHAKREAS CEDAC, which sells organic food and exports certified organic rice to the U.S since 2009. Presently, COrAA is establishing a certification program for the local market. So far, rice, fruit, pepper, vegetables and cotton products have been certified. The certified products may be labeled with the mark Organic Certified by COrAA". Rice plays an important role In the past decade, NGOs and international development programs have encouraged the cultivation of organic rice. In the promotion of sustainable practices the System of Rice Intensification or SRI played an important role. Meanwhile, more than 10, 000 farmers produce organic rice, on average on about one hectare. In addition, thousands of farmers, especially in remote areas, produce rice without using fertilizers and pesticides, virtually organic. Due to the limited capacities in marketing organic rice and the lack of capital, only about 2, 500 organic rice farmers were involved in certification schemes in 2011. Most of the organic farmers sold their paddy to conventional traders. The cultivation of organic vegetables is still very limited and cannot meet the demand. In May 2012, the first cooperative of vegetable producers was certified on the basis of COrAAs Standards for Chemical-free Crop Production." The requirements of this standard are less difficult to follow than common organic standards. The aim is to encourage vegetable producers to convert to organic production and to provide consumers an alternative to conventional produce. Currently, several farms prepare the cultivation of organic vegetables on larger scale. More than 4 000 cashew farmers, producing about ten percent of Cambodian cashew nuts, are certified for international markets. Considerable potential still exists for organic black pepper; the demand is far greater than the current production. In addition, several orchards with a total of 250 hectares are managed organically. Cooperation with the government sought Up to now, most Cambodian organic farmers fertilize with compost and manure. But because of the limited number of animals, mostly cattle, the available production is not sufficient to improve or maintain fertility of the soils. So far, green manure is planted only by a few practitioners, even though it has been shown to significantly contribute to higher yields. Obstacles to a more intensive organic farming include the lack of knowledge and in many areas the traditional practice of letting cattle and water buffalos graze freely on harvested rice fields. The COrAA has represented Cambodia in the Asia Working Group on Global Organic Market Access Initiative (GOMA) in its meetings from 2010 to 2012. While several countries where represented by their government as well as the private sector, Cambodia was one of the countries that were not represented by the government. Therefore, COrAA is now looking toward cooperation especially with the Ministry of Agriculture in the quest to establish a national organic policy. GOMA recently approved the regulatory framework, the "Asian Regional Organic Standard" (AROS), and recommended it for adoption by the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Consequently, the Cambodian organic sector would like to promote AROS together with the Royal Cambodian government.
by Winfried Scheewe (This is a translation of an article written in German for kologie & Landbau, Issue 4, 2012)