USAID launches its HARVEST II program

Tin Sokhavuth



USAID in Cambodia, on Wednesday, launched its «HARVEST Phase II» development program with an objective to help Cambodian farmers increase their productivity and income.

According to Mrs. Polly Dunford, USAID Cambodia Mission Director, HARVEST Phase II would help to ameliorate the relation between buyers and providers in the kingdom - HARVEST Phase II would help Cambodian horticulture farmers to diversify their planting methods, and to find market for their products.

Mrs. Dunford also said that "HARVEST Phase II" would follow the success of the "HARVEST Phase I" that was the first step of the implementation of the US global food strategy in Cambodia. Overall, "HARVEST Phase II" would be implemented within the period of five years, and the total amount of $17.5 million would be used for the implementation of this program.

According to USAID in Cambodia, the entire HARVEST program is a development program that was conceive to increase incomes for 100,000 households living around Tonle Sap Lake. And the development of different activities to generate income for 8,500 “extreme poor” households is also another goal of the program.

To deliver technical assistance and business services to smallholders, USAID in Cabmodia has hired companies and NGOs to do the job.

Regarding the US global food strategy as a whole, in general, the strategy is mainly aiming to increase "availability of food, generating income from production, creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities throughout value chains, and spurring growth in rural and urban economies," wrote USAID on its website.

The strategy was also conceived to help children around the world to grow up normally, "as undernutrition, particularly during the 1,000 days from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, leads to lower levels of educational attainment, productivity, lifetime earnings, and economic growth rates," added USAID.

In sum, USAID added that the main goal of the strategy is to free the world from hunger and extreme poverty by increasing income for all people. The strategy was designed to help to accelerate inclusive and sustainable economic growth around the world.