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Farmers' and consumers' perspectives towards conservation agriculture vegetables in Siam Reap Province, Cambodia
Thesis Abstract:
This study aimed to identify the general perspectives of farmers and consumers towards conservation agriculture vegetables in Siem Reap. Cambodia. It was intended to characterize and present the demographic profile of conservation agriculture vegetable farmers. Furthermore, it determined the factors affecting vegetable preferences among consumers. Lastly, it aimed to identify the current issues related to vegetable production and consumption, and recommend strategies to solve the identified issues.
Primary data were gathered through a survey which was conducted through face to face interview using two sets of questionnaire. One set of questionnaire was used to interview 46 small-scale farmers who have been involved in the Conservation Agriculture project with CESAIN. The second questionnaire, on the other hand, was administered to 47 consumers who were randomly selected from different villages in Siem Reap municipality. To have a better understanding of the whole conservation agriculture project. one project staff was interviewed. To analyze the survey results, descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, and correlation analysis were used.
Based on the results, majority of the farmers were female, married, and 40 to 59 years old. Most of them had secondary education (Grade 7 to 9). In terms of household size, majority of them had 6 to 10 family members. They were highly dependent on agricultural production. On the other hand, most of the consumers were female, married and 25 to 39 years old. More than one-third of them had primary education (Grade 1 to 6). In terms of household size, most of them had 6 to 11 family members. Nearly half of them were traders.
The practice and implementation of CA consisted of 14 steps. Basically, drip irrigation system was practiced with the goal of increasing farm productivity. Farmers planted 19 different types of vegetables such as cauliflower, wax gourd, luffa, eggplant, chili, tomato, herb, kangkong, giant taro, shallot, rat ear, pumpkin, bitter gourd, bok choy, spinach, cucumber, long bean, bottle gourd, and onion leaves. These vegetables were planted on 2.7825 ha in five villages. More than half of the farmers sold their produce to different buyers such as middlemen, retail markets, agricultural communities, and consumers (nearby villagers).
ln terms of purchasing frequency of the consumers, almost three-fourths of them bought vegetables every day in retail markets and spent around US$ 1 - 10 per week on vegetables. Additionally, more than three-fourths of them did not check the certification and labeling on vegetables before buying.
In terms of the potential market of CA vegetables, most of the farmers were willing to buy CA vegetables at reasonable prices. As for consumers' vegetable preferences, freshness of vegetables was a major consideration.
On the other hand, the most crucial factor which discouraged consumers to purchase local vegetables was its unavailability in the area. Still, more than one-fourth of the consumers considered local vegetables as their first choice.
Several current issues related to CA vegetable production and consumption were identified. Among these were: difficulty finding dried leaves and mulch during the rainy season; cost of drip irrigation system was expensive; and high incidence of pest and diseases during production. Furthermore, there was lack of market information and marketing strategies to push the produce to the market. Furthermore, there was limited varieties of CA vegetables. There were also no existing business modalities and integrative arrangements for CA farming system to foster the CA vegetable market share.
On the other hand, issues on vegetable consumption included awareness of CA vegetables among consumers and the proliferation of substitute vegetables. The majority of consumers were more aware of organic vegetables. None of them were aware of CA vegetables.
Based on the correlation analysis, the farmers had a highly favorable attitude towards CA while majority of the consumers had a less favorable attitude towards CA. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between consumers' education and attitude towards CA. This implies that consumers' education positively affected their attitude towards CA.
Based on the findings of the study, it is highly recommended to use producer organizing approach. Since the CA farmers belong to four different villages, they are far from each other. The producer organizing approach could help in clustering farmers into groups to make management easier. Farmers should be clustered based on their village location and there should be a head for each cluster group. The cluster leaders should work together to plan for their year-round vegetable production and marketing. It is also recommended that they sell their vegetables to the agricultural cooperative because they buy these produce at much higher prices.