The Ministry of Commerce and Yamato Green, a well-known agricultural development company specialising in safe vegetable production, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday to develop a value-chain for agri-business production in Cambodia.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak said agribusiness is an important and highly promising sector in the Kingdom that has yet to draw the amount of investment its development potential warrants.
Sorasak stated the MoU will establish good cooperation in addressing challenges in the value chain to strengthen productivity and quality in response to market demands. He noted Yamato Green will be an appropriate partner for the development of sustainable agribusiness production and the provision of processing techniques, packaging and procedures needed to increase opportunities in the supply of domestic and export markets. Additionally, the minister said Yamato Green’s participation in developing a state-of-the-art production model will help boost local production today.
“Small and medium enterprises and farmers’ communities will be able to establish an environmentally friendly supply chain and gain a competitive advantage in penetrating and diversifying the market” said the minister.
Sorasak also advised the parties to have a specific information management system for sharing tasks according to function and provide information to each other in a timely, and consistent manner. He added the working group should develop medium and long-term coordination systems and mechanisms to ensure that technical assistance and benefits are provided to small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Yamato Green should bring agri-business products from smallholder farmers to the markets, increase investment and provide development techniques along the production process in agribusiness, from planting to cultivation, processing, packaging and distribution,” the minister said.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mikami Masahiro, ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, Nishikaze Toru, president of Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan External Trade Organization’s President Marisa Haruta and Kanda Yogo, president of the Japanese Business Association of Cambodia.
Japan’s Yamato Green has signed MoUs previously with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Tourism.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
