The fruits and vegetables sub-sectors are crucial for food security, nutrition and agri-economy diversification and development. In Cambodia these sub-sectors are highly fragmented and dominated by smallholders. Moreover, currently more than 50% of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in Cambodia are imported from Thailand, Vietnam and China. Cambodia’s dependence on imported fruits and vegetables is due mainly to product seasonality and the lack of a consistent supply. Nevertheless, smallholder farmers and local processors have a great opportunity to increase their productions and more incomes, especially due to recent increase in demand for safer and locally produced fruits and vegetables.
 

In January 2019, the Cambodia Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (CPSA) started its engagement in the fruits and vegetables sub-sectors, aiming to establish a functional Working Group (“Fruits & Vegetables WG”) that could gather relevant actors and address the existing challenges along the value chains. After individual consultations with nearly 40 stakeholders (from private sector, government, research institutions and NGOs/CSOs) and a multi-stakeholder roundtable meeting, due to the emerging complexities characterizing the two sub-sectors, it was deemed necessary to split the Fruits & Vegetables WG into two sub-groups. Since mid-2019, CPSA dedicated its resources to forming the Vegetables Group, which was formalized later in the year and now has a clear mandate, and proceeds with its activities. In order to start a similar process that would result in the formation of a Fruit Group (if deemed necessary), CPSA decided to commission this Rapid Assessment of selected fruit value chains.