The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Cambodia requested that microfinance institutions be able to examine the feasibility and investment opportunities by providing low-interest loans that facilitate investment in the production chain and provide benefits to both institutions and farmers.

The request was made by Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Dith Tina and leaders during a meeting with the Cambodian Microfinance Association at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Cambodia.

In this meeting, the Minister emphasised the importance of microfinance institutions participating in helping farmers and the development of Cambodia’s agricultural sector to contribute to the national economy.

According to Dith Tina, the agricultural policy in the seventh mandate, the Ministry has a new agricultural community policy with sufficient resources and capital, management plans, and specific markets that can farm on a large scale for export. MFIs can examine investment opportunities through low-interest loans that facilitate investment in the production chain and benefit both the institution and the farmer.

The two sides discussed the need for more cooperation to help farmers and explored the possibility of sharing agricultural data, markets, and information related to agricultural work, promoting agricultural insurance, and disseminating information to farmers.

According to the report of the National Bank of Cambodia, as of the first half of 2023, microfinance institutions in Cambodia have provided loans to customers amounting to 40 trillion riels ($9.7 billion), an increase of 14.8%, lower than the growth rate of the same period last year, 16.2%. The fastest-growing sectors were manufacturing (30.8%), household units (18.4%), trade and commerce (15%), construction (14%), and agriculture (13.2%).