CEDAC Organic rice business (CORB)

Yang Saing KomaARUN International Symposium

6-7 September, 2012

Organic Rice Produc

tion (Farme

r supported by CEDAC

)

Storage +

Processing

(Private Rice Mill)

Marketing & Sale (SKC)

CEDAC Shop and

other private retails

Overview of current CORB

CORB : production, storage, processing, sale and marketing support services to rice farmers CORB seeks to achieve following social objectives by combining development and business approach: Improving livelihood for organic rice farmers Contributed to sustainability of rice

production systems Contributed to improved public health

CORB

Around 1.8 million rice farmers families (60 % of Cambodia population)

Issues of rice farmers:- Lower yields, higher expenses on external input- Lower prices, prices determined by traders- Soil degradation and pollution- Health problem- Lack of trust in cooperatives

Socio-economic issues of rice farmers to be addressed by CORB

CEDAC as Cambodian NGO set up in August 1997 to work for the improvement of livelihood of farmers, with > 100,000 farmers supported to improve rice production

2004: Integration of organic rice marketing support services through opening pilot shop in Phnom Penh

2009: Established Sahakreas CEDAC (SKC) to be responsible in sale and marketing of organic food products, especially organic rice,

2012: Introduction of the rice mill cooperative initiative

Background of CORB

Company owned by CEDAC and farmers Set up in 2009 to provide sale and

marketing services to farmers Current main products: organic rice, wild

honey, traditional rice wine and palm sugar Market: Phnom Penh, USA, Ho Chi Minh City Number of organic rice farmers : 2000

families supported by CEDAC projects Main investment partners: Oiko Credit and

ARUN, mainly in paddy procurement

SKC in brief

Procurement of paddy Storage (private warehouse and own

warehouse) Milling (private rice mill) Packaging Distribution and sale services Export services Organic rice brand development

Services of SKC

Technical support services to small rice farmers to increase rice production and to produce organic fragrant rice with lower cost/zero expenses on external inputs

Quality control (organic certification) services

Producer organizations development and management support

Consumer education and raising awareness on organic food and organic farming

Services provided by CEDAC

Producing more rice with SRI methods

Internal inspection

08.04.2023

Certification

Manual rice harvesting

Paddy warehouse

Rice packaging for the export

Packages of CEDAC organic rice

CEDAC support: Improved production with lower cost on external input, improved producer organization, improved soil fertility

SKC business: improved access to market and higher prices for farmers, increased motivation to work together in producer organizations and to produce higher quality rice

CEDAC + SKC = higher net income for rice farmers, improved cooperation among farmers, change of power relationship, laying foundation for financial sustainability of the whole operation,

Impact of CORB on the situation of rice farmers

Growing demand of organic rice, domestic and international markets

Foundation for CEDAC organic rice laid, including brand popularity, distribution and retail networks

Increasing number of rice farmers supported by CEDAC producing rice surplus for the markets

Donors’ support to CEDAC work with rice farmers to improve rice production

Favorable government policies to support rice business and rice export

Opportunities for the expansion of CORB

Improve more benefits to farmers by integration of community-based rice mill cooperatives (RMC) into the systems

Improving profits to ensure the financial sustainability and autonomy the whole operation of CORB

Expanding the benefits of CORB to more rice farmers, up to 100,000 farmers by 2022

Future plan 2012-2022

Producing can sell milled rice with higher price than paddy

Access to rice husks for improving soil fertility and rice bran for developing animal husbandry and fish culture

RMC can be the focal point for farmers to interact with each other and to interact with other stakeholders as well as future service provider centers for farmers

Value added benefits of RMC

Production (Farmer)

Storage +

Processing

(Private Rice Mill)

Marketing &

Sale

(SKC)

CEDAC

Shop and othe

r private

retails

At Present

2013 onwards

Production (Farmer)

Storage +

Processing (RMC)

Marketing &

Sale

(SKC)

Retails (Private

Business)

CORB from 2013 onwards

SKCPG

PG

PG

Raising awareness and educating farmers on benefits cooperatives, especially RMC, and organic rice farming business

Capital contribution from farmers to invest in rice mills and in procuring paddy (RMC investment fund)

Changing the attitude of farmers in selling paddy to selling milled rice to get installment payment

Developing RMC and SKC business and financial management capacity

Developing human resources to applying business approach in development

Challenges