SWOT Analysis

As we know that CEDAC envisions a Cambodia society where small farming households enjoy good living conditions and strong mutual cooperation, with the right and power to determine their own destinies, as well as play an important role in supplying healthy food for the whole society. Moreover, this institution focuses mainly on the farmer& Entrepreneurs, Rice Mill Cooperatives, Community Saving SOSOR, and CEDAC School. Therefore, it would be better to make the SWOT analysis a certain project because it might give the certain results. As such, we are going to rise up the SWOT Analysis of the project governing the rice production and markets which were conducted 29 villages across 8 communes of 4 districts (Chumkiri, Chhouk, Banteay Meas and Dong Tung) of Kompot province. Firstly, we shall go the strength of the study. Within the study of the CEDAC, it could be seen that most of the members of rice farmer producer communities cultivates rice on about 1.78 ha of their land, so it is potential for them to improve the rice production for market supply. Besides, the farmers have their own rice producer communities that are strong and enable them to access information and technical support from other development agencies and their geographic location offers potential to produce rice well. The farmers have their own rice seed especially good varieties for the market such as Romdoul, Mliss, etc. More importantly, more people are getting to know the advantages of the organic foods; therefore there are better markets for the organic foods grown by the farmers as they could find the inputs for natural compost making easily in their communities. Another thing is that the village roads are accessible for marketing activities then they can sell their yield with a better income for their families. Moving on to the next point, though it could be seen some great strengths, there are some remaining weaknesses. Farmers have not yet improved very well the techniques of improving

rice productivity. Consequently, they may in somehow still get the small yield of their hard effort. Some farmers have inadequate skills to generate higher rice yields while the other Farmers lack market information and market strategies. It is hard for them to sell out their yield. Farmers habitually sell their rice immediately after harvesting so that the price is cheaper than if they stock it for a while. Farmers are growing low external input rice production/organic rice on just a small piece of their total cultivated land and some of the members of rice producer communities have produced organic rice for selling, but they themselves consume the harvested rice from conventional practices. The last weakness is that the farmers negotiation skills to negotiate with the collectors are not strong enough. As a result, the farmers will sell their yield to the collectors in a cheaper price comparing with the market price. Last but not least, lets find out the threat to the rice production. The local consumers are not yet aware of organic rice. Some of them are not able to differentiate between the advantages of organic and non-organic rice for health, the environmental and socially oriented business. Most of organic rice varieties that farmers have been growing are susceptible to damage by insects. Another thing is that the farmers sometimes get cheated by collectors especially during weighing/scaling. Finally, though there are many weaknesses as well as the threats, CEDAC still has the opportunity. There is good opportunity for community farmers to produce organic rice for market supply as CEDAC has been working closely with them on technical assistance and marketing strategy support. It means that there is a good market opportunity for farmers to benefit from the business. More interestingly, the demand for rice from CEDAC is being gradually increased from year to year. There is a high demand from outside traders especially to export outside. Then as it could be seen in the threat and weaknesses that the farmers hardly get

the market for their organic foods and get easily cheated by the collector who speculate the price, as a result the farmers could sell their yields to the CEDAC at the market price and they will not worry that their yields will be unable to get sell besides selling to the collectors or intermediaries.