Workshop in Five Provinces
Workshop in Five Provinces
The provincial workshop to promote the use of certified seed and the distribution ceremony of the granted registered rice seed to Rice Seed Producer Groups (RSPGs) was successfully organized by the PCRL in its five target provinces. This workshop occurred from June 24th to June 28th, 2024, and involved more than 200 participants with the purpose of: 1. Increase awareness of the rice seed system among paddy producers and local rice millers. 2. Estimate the demand for certified rice seed for the following season in consultation with paddy producer groups and local rice millers. 3. Award the granted registered rice seed to the designated rice seed producer groups under the intervention of the PCRL project.
Establishing a rice seed quality declared system by supporting rice seed producers to obtain quality certification in production and distribution to paddy rice producers' communities and the rice millers is a strategic plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. This mechanism is meant to ensure that the rice seed products have a quality guarantee system for farmers to buy and use. It also aims to increase the quality of rice production, enhance climate resilience, and promote rice processing mills to produce good quality rice that meets the needs of both domestic and foreign customers.
PCRL's intervention in distributing rice seeds to selected agricultural stations, designated agricultural cooperatives (ACs), Rice Seed Producer Groups (RSPGs), and producer groups within CPAs in the five provinces: Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, and Kampong Thom. In 2024, the focus is on Phka Romduol and Sen Kro-Ob 01 varieties, as they are a priority of MAFF. In subsequent years, other stress-tolerant rice varieties may be included in the seed production variety.
This project support for seed multiplication and marketing involves activities led by the GDA/Department of Rice Crop (DRC) in collaboration with partners such as the GDA/Department of Crop Seed (DCS), CARDI, and IRRI. These activities include developing training materials for RSPGs and creating regionally appropriate business models for the ACs and producer groups within CPAs for the production and marketing of certified rice seed.
