Participants at the PEARL inception workshop in Siem Reap. ©FAO/Kosal Leng

Government and non-governmental stakeholders, including local communities from Cambodia’s provinces of Oddar Meanchey, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear, and Siem Reap have welcomed implementation plans for PEARL, a new project which is funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Dubbed PEARL, the Public-Social-Private Partnerships for Ecologically-Sound Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood in Northern Tonle Sap Basin (PEARL) project aims to enhance the resilience of communities in the Northern Tonle Sap Basin to the impacts of climate change by increasing their access to climate advisory services, climate-resilient technologies and practices, finance and prospective premium markets.  

The project rollout was celebrated during two provincial inception workshops, which were held in Siem Reap and Kampong Thom on 21 and 22 November 2023. The two workshops provided an opportunity for key stakeholders to learn more about the project and its objectives, seek clarifications and provide input towards implementation plans and eligibility criteria of targeted beneficiaries.

“PEARL belongs to Cambodia and aligns with the Royal Government of Cambodia agriculture policy priorities. It also addresses key challenges which farmers are confronted with, which are climate change and markets, an enabling environment for farmers to flourish. I urge the provinces to fully engage in the project for successful outcomes,” said His Excellency Dr Yang Saing Koma, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), at the official opening of the workshop in Kampong Thom. He added that the PEARL project would also contribute to MAFF strategy to develop Preah Vihear to be a leading province in organic farming.

At the workshops, Government officials from the MAFF, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and the provincial administration stressed the importance of public-social-private partnerships along with stakeholder ownership and accountability as key elements for successful achievement of PEARL implementation intended results.

The provincial workshops follow a nation-wide inception workshop which was held earlier in Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh on 27 October 2023, where the project was officially introduced to key stakeholders at the national level.

PEARL is being executed by the MAFF and MoE of the Royal Government of Cambodia with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the accredited and co-executing entity.

“Close collaboration, ownership and teamwork are very important to achieve the common goals of Government as well as the project. Partnership, respect, trust and care with each other would lead to the great success,” said His Excellency Dr Meas Pyseth, Under Secretary of State, MAFF.

“It is not only important that we implement in a timely manner, but also in the interests of Cambodia that we implement to a high standard to demonstrate significant performance,” said Rebekah Bell,

FAO Representative in Cambodia, highlighting the importance setting a good track record of implementation of the project as a means of unlocking further GCF resources for the country.

PEARL aims to benefit about 3 percent of Cambodia’s population, reaching out directly to 450 000 and indirectly to 1 000 000 farmers and other local value-chain actors in the Northern Tonle Sap Basin, covering 24 districts in the four target provinces.

Over 150 key representatives from Government institutions and local organizations participated in the provincial workshops, contributed their ideas towards and proposed implementation plans and eligibility criteria for target beneficiaries. Stakeholders also got to learn more the requirements of the GCF, which is providing funding of a USD 36.2 million grant for project implementation covering a six-year period from April 2023 to April 2029.