Preah Vihear: Dr. Kao Thach, the Royal Government Delegate in Charge of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB) and President of the Techo Farmers Network Association, said that farming is not easy, it requires real work, not just playing around, especially with many issues surrounding production costs.
Dr. Kao Thach’s remarks during a meeting with farmers from the O’Kleeng Port Meanchey community and students from Chea Sim Tbeng Meanchey Agricultural Technical High School in Preah Vihear city, Preah Vihear province on May 18, 2026.
The ceremony was also attended by Mr. Kheang Sokchea, President of the O’Kleng Port Meanchey Community, and Mr. Tep Samthearith, Chief of Preah Khleang Commune, Tbeng Meanchey District, as well as farmers who produce rice, vegetables, and cashew nuts, with a total of 100 participants.
After listening to the concerns and challenges in the agricultural sector from the farmers in the above community, Dr. Kao Thach spoke about the situation of rapid changes in the prices of fuel, chemical fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, which have caused farmers in neighboring countries and Cambodia to face difficulties in production, especially the problem of high production costs.
In the above challenges, Dr. Thamkham said, “Farming is not easy. It requires real work, not just playing around. Especially, there are many things around production costs. Farmers need to know how to find out the cost of production per unit (cost per kilogram) that is spent on agriculture, animal husbandry, and cashew crops, etc. Otherwise, our farmers will become even more in debt.”
To solve the problem that farmers face in farming, facing risks every year due to price, Dr. Dang told the farmers that the Techo Farmers Network Association was established to help farmers and will serve as: (1) an umbrella for farmers, which is to jointly protect the rights or legality of farmers or protect against abuses and profits on farmers, and (2) the association serves as a bridge for them to walk or connect to other opportunities, such as opportunities to obtain technical and market information, especially as a bridge to connect the voices of farmers to competent institutions or national and international communities, which must not leave the voice of any farmer behind.
