The project of “Building Capacity of Institutions to Help Farmers Better Adapt to Climate Change and Variability in Cambodia” is hereinafter called ‘BUILD-FARM-ADAPT’ funded by Cambodia Climate Change Alliance Trust Fund (CCCA-TF). The project has been implemented by Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in collaboration with Chea Sim University of Kamchaymear (CSUK) and Queensland University (Australia) in three districts (Pea Riang, Ba Phnom and Kamchaymear) of Prey Veng Provinces. The target groups are ‘farming communities’ living in vulnerable area and PDAs. The objective of the project was an initiative to help vulnerable farming communities in potential disaster-prone areas resolve and alleviate climate-based agricultural production problems in a sustainable manner. New farming technologies—potential technology improvements for more sustainable agricultural production—were introduced to the target areas of the project for assessment by researchers and farmers.

The five most important achievements are:

1) A total of 100 on-farm field demonstrations were established throughout the project target area to assess the introduced technologies for improved adaptation to climate change and climate variability.

2) Through a combination of farmer exchange visits and community meetings in the target areas, the knowledge and awareness of the improved adaptation technologies were shared with more than 1,000 households; secondary level awareness (through farmer-to-farmer exchange) would be much greater than this.

3) To provide an understanding of the relationships between weather conditions and technology impact/agricultural productivity, a total of 26 families in the target communities were engaged in the collection of climatic data during the period of the project, 23 families recording rainfall data, and 3 families maintaining full sub-weather stations (where rainfall and temperature conditions were recorded).

4) Documents published by the project included: (1) Review of Climate Modeling and Climate Change Adaptation in Cambodia, 2012 (English Version); (2) Impact of Climate Change Variability and Adaptation on Agricultural Sector in Prey Veng Province, 2012 (English Version); (3) Impact of Climate Change Variability and Adaptation on Agricultural Sector in Prey Veng Province, 2012 (Khmer Version); (4) Farmer Perceptions and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Field Based Demonstration Technologies for Disaster and Climate Change Adaptation, Prey Veng Province, 2013 (English Version); and (5) Sub-Weather Analysis of Ba Phnom, Kamchaymear and Pea Riang Districts, Preng Veng Province, 2013 (English Version).

5) Seven additional topics covered by the project included: (1) Tools and procedures for extension worker (PRA, RRA and participatory diagnosis); (2) Basic utilization of GPS and GIS; (3) Forage crop establishment and management for small farm households (+feed utilization and cattle fattening techniques); (4) Potential of drip irrigation and vegetable production for small farm households; (5) Theory of climate change variability and its impact (greenhouse gas emission, crops and livestock production, etc.); (6) Theory of adjustment principles of primary systems to adapt to climate change; 7) Training in the joint utilization of cassava as an animal feed as well as cash crop (training provided to project assistants and extension workers).