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DeiMeas farmers share their success stories on transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture 

Cambodia
Sustainable agriculture
13.06.2023
DeiMeas is an initiative that functions as a financial mechanism to incentivize smallholder farmers to transition toward Regenerative Agricultural practices and contribute to the efforts of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in addressing national challenges such as deforestation, intensification of farming practices, soil degradation and more. By changing their practices towards Regenerative Agriculture, smallholder farmers are directly contributing to soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, while enhancing a large set of ecosystem services and co-benefits. 

Mrs. Naev Sombo is a 61-year-old farmer from Damank Dangkao Village, Sangkae District, Battambang Province. She has been farming since 1979 and has always used conventional farming methods such as intense plowing several times a year and increased use of pesticides. However, she was increasingly concerned about the impact of these methods on the reduction of soil fertility, soil depletion, soil compaction and rising input costs. Mrs. Sombo attended several events and training courses to learn about Regenerative Agricultural practices such as crop diversification and the benefits of cover crop use from TA-AGRI (WAT4CAM project), CARDEC (Conservation Agriculture Research for Development Centre) (DALRM/GDA) and MetKasekor (Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). She also learnt about various kinds of machinery to use to implement Regenerative Agricultural practices and received some technical assistance. Mrs. Sombo is an early adopter of Regenerative farming and is one of the first farmers to register as a DeiMeas farmer to transition to Regenerative Agriculture on all 4 hectares of her farmland. Following the implementation of Regenerative Agricultural practices such as the use of cover crops, crop diversification and the use of no till seeder, she has seen improvement in the quality of her soil, her crop yields have increased, and she is using fewer chemical fertilizers.

"DeiMeas has made the transition to Regenerative Agriculture a much more affordable and accessible option for me. I am happy with the transition as my productivity has gone up and my rice plants are taller and deep rooted. "
Mrs. Naev Sombo is a 61-year-old farmer from Damank Dangkao Village, Sangkae District, Battambang Province. 

Mr. Phol Ratha is a 59-year-old farmer from the same village as Mrs. Sombo who has been farming for over 30 years. He used to use traditional farming methods, but he switched to Regenerative Agriculture in 2021 after attending a few events and trainings from TA-AGRI (WAT4CAM project), CARDEC (DALRM/GDA) and MetKasekor (PDAFF). Like Mrs. Sombo, Mr. Ratha is an early adopter of Regenerative Agriculture and after registering as a DeiMeas farmer he implemented Regenerative Agricultural practices in all 3 hectares of his land. Since then, he has seen improvements in his soil health, crop yields, and the reward has helped him in reducing his expenses on chemical fertilizers. He is now a strong advocate for Regenerative Agriculture and has encouraged more than 20 farmers to adopt this sustainable farming method.  

"DeiMeas reward system eased my decision to transition to Regenerative Agriculture a more sustainable method of farming. Following the transition have observed gradual increase in my farms soil health and my productivity. I have also reduced my expenses by 60%. "
Mr. Phol Ratha is a 59-year-old farmer from Damank Dangkao Village, Sangkae District, Battambang Province. 

DeiMeas has made the transition to Regenerative Agriculture a more affordable option for farmers and the stories of Mrs. Naev Sombo and Mr. Phol Ratha are just two examples of the many farmers who are benefiting from Regenerative agriculture.  

 

This project is financed by the Happel Foundation, the Symphasis Foundation, the Leopold Bachmann Foundation, among other donors.  It is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA.

Cambodia
Sustainable agriculture
Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture 
The project promotes appropriate technologies and extension services for a sustainable intensification of agricultural production leading to reduced negative impacts on the environment including an improved soil health that allows smallholder farmers to increase their productivity and income.
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