Kampong Chhnang seed festival begins today
Starting today, five local communities in Kampong Chhnang province will host a two-day Seed Festival under the theme ‘Together to Preserve Khmer Ancient Seeds and National Identity.
More than 600 participants, comprising farmers, fishermen, small-scale food producers, indigenous peoples and communities, as well as a number of associations and related organisations working in Cambodia are expected to attend the third such Seed Festival in the country.
The first seed festival was organised in Siem Reap province in collaboration with communities from 20 provinces in 2020, and the second was organised under the Ministry of Land Management in Battambang province last year.
Binh Ath, president of Stung Khsach Sor Forestry Resource Community in Kampong Chhnang province, said yesterday that the festival is aimed at preserving traditional seed varieties at the local level and disseminating natural farming techniques to promote agriculture.
She added that the traditional Khmer crop varieties refer to rice and vegetable varieties that have been maintained according to ancient traditions, such as premium white rice, wild eggplant to name a few.
Traditional crop seeds will also be distributed in the festival with a focus on educating the new generation farmers about the importance of reduced use of chemical fertilisers, that can affect the quality of the soil.
Ath said that most of the new farmers do not pay much attention to traditional crops, and spend a lot of money to buy seeds and chemical fertilisers by taking bank loans.
“Therefore, self-preservation will have many benefits, especially it provides a natural agricultural product that does not affect health and can also maintain national identity,” she noted.
Supporting the initiative of the local communities, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Loek Sothear said, “If the communities preserve rice seeds and other vegetable crops, it will help them to get high yields.”
He added, “The selection depends on the type of crop, but if we talk in general, the farmers should have the knowledge to select varieties. The Ministry of Agriculture help them with seed selection techniques, and we have officials of department of rice and other crops to help farmers as a whole.”