Feed the Future’s Cambodia HARVEST programme has established public-private alliances with 11 small-scale agribusinesses for the joint design, funding and implementation of activities to improve competitiveness and expand the market for smallholder farmers in the country. The US$ 2.4 million in co-investments made under the alliances has helped private-sector partners to install equipment and deliver training for increasing productivity, improving overall product quality, lowering operating and farming costs, and strengthening technical knowledge. The partnerships have created valuable opportunities for entrepreneurs such as Rin Sokun, a rice mill owner. With a US$ 35,000 co- investment from Cambodia HARVEST, Rin purchased a second mechanical rice dryer and built a warehouse for better storage of paddy. The machines save farmers time by drying rice in just 24 hours, rather than the minimum of three days it takes for sun-drying. “With the dryer, the quality of my rice is also higher, and there’s less breakage — 20 percent versus 40 percent using traditional methods — so my cash flow is higher,” he says. “This allows me to buy more rice from farmers.” Using the new dryer, Rin has doubled his supplier base to nearly 1,000 farmers and traders, and purchased 4 660 tonnes of paddy in 2015 – 79 percent more than in 2014. To read the full article click here.