AKP Phnom Penh, February 06, 2026 -- 

The Growing Transformative Horticulture (GROWTH) project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, has been launched to develop and modernise agricultural cooperatives in targeted provinces in Cambodia. 

The launching ceremony was held here on Feb. 5 in the presence of H.E. Hean Vanhan, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, H.E. Jonathan Kings, Ambassador of New Zealand to Cambodia, representatives of private sector, development partners, provincial Departments of Agriculture and relevant departments, as well as farmer representatives from the project's target provinces.

The GROWTH project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, implemented by Save the Children Cambodia in collaboration with iDE Cambodia, with a total budget of NZD12 million over a period of 5 years (January 2026 - December 2030) in 4 target provinces, including Koh Kong, Siem Reap, and Banteay Meanchey provinces. 

The project will improve the economic security and livelihoods of 8,000 farming families (40,000 people) and 700 institutions/enterprises, with 165,000 indirect beneficiaries and over 200 business owners.

Speaking at the ceremony, H.E. Hean Vanhan stated that the ministry’s goal is to modernise the agricultural sector, ensuring both a safe and inclusive environment. 

“By working together to expand climate-smart agriculture technologies, strengthen market connectivity, and formalise value chains, we can ensure that smallholder farmers in Cambodia will benefit from their agricultural businesses and continue to be the backbone of our economic resilience,” he said. 

H.E. Secretary of State also advised the project to collaborate with the provincial Department of Agriculture, target provinces, and relevant departments to respond to the project's scope, including nutrition, food security, and agricultural product markets, especially vegetable products.

Additionally, he also highlighted priority activities that received special intervention from the Royal Government on corn, vegetable, and cassava crops, and the promotion of horticultural production as a priority goal of the Ministry of Agriculture to diversify agriculture, shifting from rice to other types of crops for greater profitability.

By Chea Vannak