As education is the key for developing human resources and skills, the Cambodian government and many international and non-governmental organisations try to provide better education in the country. However, more time and support is needed to achieve the same level of education as other Asian countries. 57 As the level and degree of farmers’ participation in the project is important for their level of acceptance of sustainable farming practices, interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted to gauge the attitude of local farmers and their participation in the collaborative project. Although many local farmers attended the first workshop, the evaluation showed low levels of true engagement in the issues. After one year passed and the farmers had learned about the use and application of composting, local farmers were more interested in using organic fertilizers, such as compost, pellet compost or liquid biofertilizer, so as to decrease their expenses for chemical fertilizers. In addition, local farmers became more active after understanding the benefits of organic fertilizers through the experience of applying those organic fertilizers themselves, as well as attending excursions to farms where sustainable practices have been conducted. Farmers’ participation became very high and local farmers were willing to adapt sustainable farming practices. It was considered that building local farmers’ confidence through various activities and enhancing farmers’ communication with each other is remarkably important to increase local participation as well as acceptability. The results of the evaluation are summarized in Table 2. Local farmers have learned from the activities and are planning to continue the system even after the activity term completes, as local farmers are very satisfied with the experience they gained. Table 2 Results of evaluation done by external evaluators Viewpoint Outcome Relevant There are strong linkages between sustainable farming and sustainable livelihood Effectiveness The numbers of 450 key farms and those owners (farmers), along with the products with organic fertilizer and low chemical input are likely to be achieved as planned by the end of the activity term Impact The activity shows concrete and tangible benefits to the farmers Sustainability Farmers have learned from the activity and are planning to continue the system even after the activity term completes, as they are very satisfied with the experience they gained Conclusion The RCE GPP activities described in this chapter are highly relevant, as they are directly linked to government policy regarding green agriculture and the real needs of increasing agricultural productivity while achieving clean and green practices. These efforts respond to the challenges of the rapidly increasing population in the area and are in full support of government strategy. The activities are also fully aligned with the global goals of sustainable production and consumption and embrace the three pillars of sustainability - economic, environmental, and social. Through these activities, ESD is introduced in schools and the school curriculum integrates sustainable farming and ESD. Accordingly, the activities of RCE Greater Phnom Penh are contributing to green growth, sustainable production, and sustainable consumption, to achieve global sustainable development. Although this project was a pilot project implemented at the sub-district level, it is expected to be scaled up to the provincial or regional levels with the collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia. References MAFF 2009. Annual Report of Agriculture in 2008 and Direction of 2009- 2010. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia. MoEYS, 2007/2008. Education Statistics of MoEYS. Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia. 6
Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity
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