It has been nearly four years since Dr. Yang Saing Koma joined the Royal Government of Cambodia with a mission to contribute to improving farmers’ livelihoods and advancing the country’s agricultural sector.
One of the key areas of this work has been the establishment and nationwide deployment of 1,600 Commune Agriculture Officers (CAOs) to agriculturally potential communes and sangkats across Cambodia. This important initiative was implemented in four phases:
- 2023: Pilot deployment of 10 CAOs in communes in Cheorng Prey District, Kampong Cham Province.
- February 2024: Deployment of 250 CAOs to rice-producing communes across 17 provinces.
- February 2025: Expansion to 1,000 CAOs covering all 24 provinces.
- October 2025: Deployment of an additional 350 CAOs, bringing the total to 1,600 CAOs nationwide.
With the nationwide deployment successfully completed, Cambodia is now entering a new phase of agricultural public services: moving from expanding the reach of extension services to strengthening their quality, relevance, efficiency, and measurable impact on farmers’ livelihoods.
From Reaching Farmers to Improving Farmers’ Lives
The success of the CAO programme should not be measured simply by the number of activities conducted, training sessions delivered, or farmers reached. Its ultimate success should be measured by tangible improvements in farmers’ livelihoods—particularly increased income, reduced production costs, improved productivity and quality, and better access to markets.
CAOs should increasingly serve as local agricultural service providers and facilitators, helping farmers to:
- Increase productivity and product quality through improved technologies, good agricultural practices, and appropriate production systems;
- Reduce production costs by improving the efficiency of fertilizers, pesticides, water, labor, machinery, and other agricultural inputs;
- Improve fertilizer-use efficiency through integrated nutrient management and the appropriate use of organic, biological, and other complementary inputs;
- Reduce unnecessary dependence on chemical inputs by promoting safer, more sustainable production systems, including the appropriate adoption of biochar, wood vinegar, and other natural and biological inputs;
- Strengthen access to markets, finance, technologies, and services by connecting farmers with farmer organizations, cooperatives, private-sector partners, financial institutions, and development partners; and
- Promote the B3 approach—Reduce Chemicals, Increase Natural Inputs, and Increase Production—as a practical pathway toward more productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable agriculture.
A New Phase of Agricultural Public Services
The deployment of 1,600 CAOs represents a major achievement in bringing agricultural services closer to farmers. However, deployment is only the beginning.
The next priority is to transform this nationwide network into an effective agricultural service delivery system that provides high-quality, demand-driven, practical, and results-oriented support to farmers.
The focus should now shift:
From deployment → to service quality
From activities → to results
From farmers reached → to farmers benefiting
From technology promotion → to profitable adoption
From production alone → to higher and more sustainable farmer income
This requires CAOs to move beyond simply disseminating technical information and increasingly act as problem-solvers, facilitators, connectors, and local agricultural service providers. They should help farmers identify their most important constraints, access appropriate solutions, adopt profitable technologies, organize collective action, and connect with markets and other services.
The CAO network should ultimately become a key mechanism for connecting farmers with the knowledge, technologies, quality inputs, finance, markets, and partnerships they need to develop more productive, competitive, profitable, and resilient agricultural businesses.
From Deployment to Impact
The establishment of 1,600 CAOs has created an important foundation for strengthening Cambodia’s agricultural extension system. The next challenge is to ensure that this investment translates into measurable and lasting benefits for farmers.
The measure of success should therefore be increasingly reflected in outcomes such as:
Higher productivity + Lower production costs + Better quality + Stronger market access = Higher farmer income
This marks a new phase of agricultural public services—one focused on quality, efficiency, innovation, accountability, and, above all, tangible improvements in farmers’ incomes and livelihoods.
From deploying agricultural officers to delivering measurable results for farmers. 🌱