Engage youth in Agriculture
- 2 minutes read - 380 wordsEast West Seed Knowledge-Transfer believes that youth will shape the future of food security and sustainable work on Agriculture. Mr Ravuth Sun has 2 sisters and 3 brothers, all of them migrate to sell labor in Thailand. Ravuth is the youngest in his family and he is 19 years old and lives in Dongkorpen Village, Prey Kpos commune, Bovel District, Battambang Province. Ravuth dropped out of school since he studied at grade 7 because he has to earn money to support his family. After his father passed away. Before he joined the project, he planted 4000 sqm of cucumbers with traditional techniques that he learnt from his father. Ravuth’s business was not going well. Many challenges such as poor knowledge of vegetable production and market information, issues on pests such as thrips, aphids, whiteflies and ladybugs and other diseases.
Ravuth said, “When I got less yield and income, I wanted to quit farming and planned to go work in Thailand, but I pity my mom who lives alone, and I love farming, that’s why I keep growing vegetables.”
Luckily, when Ravuth met challenges and struggled with his production, EWS cooperated with Nurture project to select his area for a demo showcase on vegetable production through set up demonstration, training and field day with target farmers. Ravuth and his mother joined the Nurture Project in August 2023, he participated in training courses on land preparation, seedling production, and Pest and disease management. The first crop he has been growing with the project are cauliflower and watermelons. After 3 months he decided to expand 5000 sqm land size with 2 more crops such as Cabbage and sweet corn to get more income.
Other farmers, witnessing the remarkable difference in Ravuth’s crop quality, sought his guidance. Ravuth proudly shared the techniques he learned from the Knowledge Transfer Team.
Ravuth thanked the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Team and Nurture project for their support, emphasizing the invaluable skills, knowledge, and cooperation they provided. He expressed a heartfelt desire for continued support and the provision of additional seeds for future growth. Ravuth said, “I sincerely thank the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Team for supporting me with the skills, knowledge, and great cooperation. I want them to continue supporting me and other farmers with useful farming lessons.”