Pilot Project for Geographical Indication Protection in Cambodia

Project from the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce
Funded by: Agence Francaise de Developement
Implemented by: Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques (GRET), Centre d’Etude et de Développement Agricole Cambodgien (CEDAC)
Project start: 2006
Project Phase: Implementation

Geographical Indications (GI) are labels given to some products that show unique characteristics related to the region of production and the specific knowledge of the farmers. Champagne French wine, Roquefort French cheese, Parma Italian ham are example of well-known GIs.
The GI label is a guarantee of the origin of the product for the consumers and a protection against fraud for the farmers.

The Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to offer GI protection for some of the country's products.
In the first phase, a pilot project has been put in place in order to support the government of Cambodia in the drafting of the GI law and some farmers' organizations in their application for GI protection.
The first Cambodian products to apply for GI protection will be Kampot Pepper and Kompong Speu Sugar Palm.

FarmLink is contracted by the project to provide expert services on Kampot Pepper.

>>Read more about the GI project

Improving the quality and productivity of Kampot Pepper plantations

Access to irrigation

A FarmLink Project
Funded by: The Cambodian Value Added Chain Program (CAVAC)
Implemented by: FarmLink
Project start: 2008
Project Phase: Completed

One of the major problems Kampot Pepper farmers were facing was the lack of water to irrigate their farms. After several years of low market prices, the farmers also lacked the finances to dig wells or ponds.
FarmLink setup a project and looked for organizations that could help digging water ponds. The CAVAC project accepted to provide credit-based finances for the farmers' associations. Another organization (BAB) accepted to dig the ponds at a preferential rate.

Between February and May 2008, 25 ponds were created. These ponds shared amongst several farms allow proper irrigation for more than 50 plantations.

Other Actions to take

Kampot Pepper farmers have a growing demand for their product. The supply is currently limited due to structural problems (water, fertilizer...), organizational issues and limited tools availability.
FarmLink identified some key issues that need to be resolved and is looking for partners who could help us implement these projects:

• Fertilizers & Fertilization techniques
  Traditionaly farmers use cow dung as a natural fertilizer. They usually do not own enough cows to cover the needs of their farm. The project aims at improving the access to natural fertilizer and training the farmers on the use of different fertilization techniques such as composting.
• Access to wooden poles
  Pepper in Kampot is grown along dead wood poles. These poles have become very difficult to find and their price very expensive. The project aims at finding a long-term solution to this problem, creating new sources of supply for example.
• Processing Machineries
  Once pepper is harvested, it needs to be graded and cleaned. This process is done by hand for now which is only possible with small volumes. The project aims at improving the processing of peppercorns by introducing small scale machineries.
• Storage area
  Today, farmers do not have the capacity to store their pepper in good conditions. Therefore peppercorns need to be sold rapidly after harvest when prices are at the year lowest. The project aims at creating a storage area that would allow the farmers to capitalize on the fluctuation of prices within the year.