Help Rural Cambodians Escape Hunger and Poverty

Mrs. Oeum is a farmer in Svay Chey village, Trapeang Thom commune, Prasat Bakong district, Siem Reap province who received training about Homestead Gardening and Soil Management from Trailblazer’s agriculture staff. 

During a routine visit to monitor her farming success, and provide more techniques to strengthen her knowledge and capacity for cultivation, she was asked about the difference in her agriculture pursuits before and after she receive training from Trailblazer. 

Mrs. Oeum said that before she received the training, the cultivation methods she used followed what her ancestors had done. She did not know about technical planting and had poor results in growing vegetables. She did not know how to prepare the land for growing vegetables. She spent a lot of water, labor, seeds, and money on her farm. She faced a number of challenges in her farming with low crop yields, pests and diseases, and the lack of access to the markets, which resulted in a struggle to make ends meet.

After she received the training from Trailblazer that covered topics such as soil preparation, crop selection, planting techniques, pest and disease management, and marketing, she implemented the techniques learned and experienced a significant improvement in her homestead gardening, her crop yields increased, and has been able to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases. She also has been able to sell her produce at a higher price at the market.

Today she is very happy with the results of the training and says that the trainings helped her to improve her farming practices and increase her income. She is more confident about her ability to feed her family and to provide for their future.

She recommends that other farmers in her community get training on homestead gardening and soil management from Trailblazer because it is a valuable way to improve their farming practices and to increase their income.

Farmers who receive training are more likely to be successful and have higher crop yields because they learn about sustainable farming practices and better marketing skills for earning higher incomes. Because they also learn about the different types of pests and diseases that can affect their crops, they know how to prevent and control them. 

She reports her family and the villagers are cheerful about their crops and how well they grow, and are happy and thankful to Trailblazer for establishing the agriculture project in their village.

Donor support helps Trailblazer reach and train more farmers to be successful. Your investment can make a real difference in improving the food security and lives of rural families. We hope you choose to help today. Thank you.

In May, Trailblazer was gifted with three Rapitest soil analyzers, that were then supplied to the Farmer Community Group in Preah Ang Trong village, Lvea commune, Pouk district. These analyzers will be used to assist the farmers in measuring the soil's fertility, light, moisture, and pH level, as well as, quickly and accurately determining the soil's acidity and alkaline level. The results display in an easy to read digital readout.

Trailblazer's Agriculture Supervisor, Monypheap, recently visited and monitored this farmer group on how they were doing. She met specifically with Mrs. Louy to explain how to use the soil tester and to take measurements of the soil in her farm land in order to know the status of the land quality. The results revealed that Mrs. Louy's land's fertility level was too low, the pH level was neutral - neither acid nor alkaline, and the moisture level was too high, which is not good for her crops.

In Cambodia, the soils are comprised heavily of sand and clay, which makes the agriclutural techniques and practices that Trailblazer teaches so important. Composting, soil management, and integrated farming systems aid in increasing the quality of the land to make it more optimal for farming and successful harvests.

Monypheap and Mrs. Louy also talked about the many uses and the principle of using organic fertilizer and lime to improve the quality of her farm land for greater success, and about the type of crops that should be planted next season. Farmers should not plant the same crop every time because it leads to the crops getting diseases and damage by insects. Crop rotation is important to maintaining quality soil for growing healthier produce.

The various measurements captured with the soil analyzers are very important elements to the farmers' success. The results are used to analize their farm land's quality, and thereby, assists the farmer in effectively utilizing their time, calculating yields, and managing the money they invest in their farm practices.

Results provided by these soil analyzers are the basis for farmers making good decisions about which farming techniques they need to implement from season to season and crop to crop.

We are so thankful to the donor who graciously provided these Rapitest soil analyzers to help make our farmers more successful with growing their crops and reaping larger, healthier harvests of their crops, whereby earning larger incomes.

We wish to thank all our donors who support our Food Security program which leads to rural families escaping hunger and poverty.