The first thing most people notice about organically produced food is the taste. Rich red organic tomatoes which can scent whole salads with their fragrance, carrots so sweet they might have been dipped in honey, chicken which adds a depth to soups and stews that its larger steroid-laden counterparts could never match. Consumers notice the difference.
But besides the taste factor, chemical-free organic foods are indisputably healthier, and when it comes down to the cold hard cash factor, the production costs are far lower for Cambodia's mainly subsistence farming community to produce because they don't require the complex and expensive regimen of pesticides, hormones and artificial fertilizers.
For this reason, a range of non-government organizations, small businesses and ministries have been trying to promote organic food production in Cambodia. Progress has been steady, but the market still has a lot of room for development, according to experts.
However the organically-produced food sector is taking off. A stroll around one of Phnom Penh's larger supermarkets reveals palm sugar and other palm tree products the leading company Comfrel proudly proclaims as organically certified overseas. Neat packets of organic rice and Kampot black pepper sit across from a fridge brimming with free range Cambodian chickens. Down the road, Nature and Sea restaurant's menu proudly claims all vegetables on the menu are organically produced in Cambodian provinces such as Kampong Speu.
Director of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), Yang Saing Koma, says that although his organization's base is in Phnom Penh, the farmers CEDAC works with to help produce organic chicken, vegetables and rice live in four or five provinces around the country. CEDAC is not yet taking on the international market, he says-producing a guaranteed supply for the local Cambodian market is challenge enough at this point.
"We train farmers seasonally. It probably takes about two to three seasons for them to fully understand what organic means and how to produce it," he says. "The aim is to produce to an international standard, so no antibiotics or hormones or food additives. No chemicals."
"The other thing we need to do is educate consumers about the benefits of organic food. The taste is the main one local consumers notice, but educating them that food that is free of pesticides is better for them is the next step," he says. "The problem we are finding is that it is very difficult to guarantee a constant supply."
That is a major problem if Cambodia's organic producers are going to move into the lucrative tourism and hospitality market, supplying major hotels and other large-scale wholesalers. For that reason, although around 80% of Cambodia's working population farm, up to 70% of its fruit and vegetables are imported from neighboring Thailand or Vietnam or supplied through Singaporean or Chinese distributors according to informal figures. A typical market in one of the country's urban centers requires up to a ton of vegetables a day to keep up with consumer demand, and most larger hotels will use on average between 50 and 80 kilos of vegetables a day, according to suppliers.
"Cambodia imports a huge percentage of fruit and vegetables," says Ralf Múller, an advisor for Agro-Industry and Trade Promotion for the Ministry of Commerce. "(Organics) has a big economic potential to help replace imports from Thailand and Vietnam."
Unlike its neighbors, Cambodia has a poor irrigation system and therefore limited large scale production, he says. "Water for cropping is only available in the wet season and early dry season, which means only limited production," he says. But a way around that would be small-scale organic farming. "It might be small scale, but it has a big potential for poverty reduction. It's also healthy."
Although many restaurants catering to foreigners would happily pay higher prices for organic ingredients, and many foreigners, aware of the benefits, would happily accept these establishments passing on the extra costs, the main benefits for Cambodian farmers are actually in lower production costs, Múller says. "Organic producers don't have to lay out for pesticides, fertilizers and other additives that make conventional farming such an expensive operation for a subsistence farmer," he says. "That's what makes it so attractive as a sustainable poverty reduction strategy."
But before consumers race out to buy organic, they should remember that Cambodia currently has no set standards which products have to meet to be officially certified. Múller and Koma both agree that standardization is the next step.
"We are currently working towards an organic standard for a number of products. The Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association is on the verge of announcing standards for a number of organic products, including cashews and pepper, but that so far covers only a small range of products and it is something that needs to be looked at when it comes time to develop export markets," Múller says.
Koma agrees, saying even a national standard would be a good start. "There needs to be a national standard. We need to have harmony. We need certification for the domestic market and then international certification," he says.
Columbian Dani Jump works with the non-government organization Angkor Centre for Conservation and Biodiversity (ACBB) teaching Cambodian honey collectors methods of sustainable production (and not, he stresses, organically certified honey) from the mostly wild hives they harvest. Although pesticides and even farming is rare where his bees forage, he will not label his product organic without official testing and certification. He is one of a growing number of people warning that standards need to be set up quickly to ensure Cambodia's burgeoning organic market retains credibility, and he says the less specifically defined "sustainable production" label is already being abused by some.
"ACCB is a development organization. We teach methods such as sustainable harvesting. Our honey is not certified organic. It often comes from deep in the jungle, so the temptation for a lot of people is to call it organic, but there is no organization to certify honey in Cambodia as far as I know so you can't make that claim," he says.
However he says he knows of at least one foreigner who has taken advantage of Cambodia's non-existent certification system to label a product sustainably harvested when it was not. The worry is that labeling products organic which are not is equally easy in the current climate. "Some people have very dubious business practices," he says.
CEDAC http://www.interdev-net.org/uk/reseau/result_paysdetail.asp?ID=Cedac
Ministry of Commerce www.moc.gov.kh/
ACCB http://www.accb-cambodia.org/english.html