"I am really happy that IMA4P supports me”, Prak Sim’s story
The Improving Market Access for the Poor (IMA4P) programme supports farmers to turn their rice farmers into thriving commercial enterprises. Through training, co-operatives and linkages with key players in the market, farmers are able to have a more secure, profitable income. Prak Sim, 52, father of four, shares his story.
VSO/Sophal Neak
Prak Sim visits an IMA4P regional meeting along with other farmers and supply chain participants.
“I have two jobs. I’m a vet, but I’m also a farmer.
I have a rice paddy. The main challenge for me is that the seed is not good or reliable.
I’ve never changed before. As farmers, we always follow the traditional way- so I just use the one type of seed. That’s why we never got a good quality product from our paddies.
Water is another challenge. Also, when we produce rice, we don’t have a market to see it. We have to spend a lot of money on farming but when we sell the product, we get a low price.
We are dependent on nature [the weather]. We don’t know the market so well, so we have produced the wrong thing that isn’t needed.
The Improving Market Access to the poor has found us a solution. They have provided training to us.
VSO has given us some capacity building, and that means we have knowledge to deliver the training to another farmer. They are guiding us to the market, mobilising the farming community and millers so that we can meet each other and discuss the market. That’s new. They’ve facilitated the signing of the contract between farmers and the millers.
I would like to thank VSO for this role. We now have the market for rice. Once we’ve produced it, we have the ideas and the market to buy our product.
I hope to sell my product with good quality, and my income will increase. Because we’ve joined as a group, all us farmers are able to increase our income by increasing our crop and farming through IMA4P.
I am now comfortable with this income. It’s about 40% more than it was before. I can send my children to school and buy us all food. I’m really happy about IMA4P supporting me.”
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