SIM Sokcheng
Senior Research Fellow and Director Center
This study evaluates the economic and nutritional impacts of integrating school-grown gardens into Cambodia’s school meals program during the 2022-2023 academic year, using a mixed-methods approach. State-run schools were the most cost-efficient, with an annual cost of USD 38.90 per student, compared to USD 55.24 in WFP-run schools due to higher in...
This policy brief evaluates the cost-effectiveness, nutritional adequacy, and sustainability of Cambodia's three School Feeding Program (SFP) modalities: state-run, WFP-run, and school-gardening programs. Data from the 2022-2023 school year revealed disparities in implementation. The state-run model was the most cost-efficient, spending USD 38.9 pe...
The “Cost-Nutrition Assessment Guideline for School Feeding Program in Cambodia” utilizes a modified SEEM (Scope, Economic Components, Evaluation, and Measurement) framework to evaluate the cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and nutritional impact of decentralized school feeding programs. The framework assesses program boundaries, resource allocat...
In this study, we examine the revenue, costs, profits and technical efficiency of chilli farms in Cambodia. We employ a representative sample of 542 chilli farming households from Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Cham, Tboung Khmum and Kandal. The sample was randomly selected using a two-stage stratified sampling design, where...
Pesticides are agricultural technologies that farmers use to control pests and weeds and remain an important modern input for crop production including vegetable farming. There are many types of pesticides, such as insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides and herbicides, that target different threats to crops. While the potential production benefits...
Growing rural-to-urban and international migration flows have sparked concerns about the investments in the education of the children left behind in Cambodia. We draw on a panel household-level survey conducted in rural villages in 2014 and 2017 to analyse the relationship between parental migration and children’s schooling. The analysis shows that...
Pesticides are agricultural technologies that farmers use to control pests and weeds and remain an important modern input for crop production including vegetable farming. There are many types of pesticides, such as insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides and herbicides, that target different threats to crops. While the potential production benefits...
This study is a part of the UN Joint Programme through which the UNDP seeks to examine the relationship between the economic/monetary returns of investments in education and technical vocational education and training (TVET) at individual, household and national levels. The overall objectives of the study are (1) to estimate the rate of return at t...
This report reviews a project funded under the research program called “Scale up of Homestead Food Production for Improved Nutrition in Cambodia”, also known as “Family Farms for the Future (FF4F)”. The project tries to capture FF4F’s immediate and potential contribution to food security. FF4F aims to help three main groups: large-scale producers o...
There are many studies about rice production in Cambodia, but none focus on the geographical location of rice production, particularly in the south-eastern provinces of Prey Veng, Takeo and Svay Rieng. Farmers in these areas produce mainly low-value rice (IR504) most of which is exported as wet paddy to Vietnam. The Vietnamese government recently d...
Effective public service delivery is a cornerstone of socio-economic development, ensuring services reach citizens efficiently and equitably. Over the past decade, Cambodia has made notable progress in improving its Public Financial Management system. The Public Financial Management Reform Program (PFMRP) has played a crucial role in enhancing budg...
Effective public service delivery is a cornerstone of socio-economic development, ensuring services reach citizens efficiently and equitably. Over the past decade, Cambodia has made notable progress in improving its Public Financial Management system. The Public Financial Management Reform Program (PFMRP) has played a crucial role in enhancing budg...
The AGROW project in Cambodia, led by Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB) with partners AVSF Cambodia and ADA, focuses on training women farmers in sustainable agriculture and livestock production to enhance financial and nutritional outcomes. Running from 2022 to December 15, 2024, the program targets climate-smart practices in cricket, chicken, c...
This two-year project builds upon previous PRCI initiatives in Southeast Asia, addressing the urgent need for advanced economic policy analysis skills in the Mekong subregion's agri-food system, which includes Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The project aims to bridge the expertise gap identified by regional partners and boost research capac...
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Capacity, and Influence (PRCI) is a project funded by USAID to enhance the ability of local policy research organizations to conduct high-quality food security policy research and influence food security policy more effectively while becoming increasingly self-reliant. Since 20...
The Cambodia Nutrition Project (CNP) is a seven-year, US$62.5 million project to anchor the RGC’s enhanced and coordinated response to accelerate the human capital formation focusing on maternal and child health and nutrition (MCHN) in the early years. The CNP addresses Cambodia’s persistent high levels of stunting and aims to close equity gap...
Assessment Studies on The Economic Costs of an Integrated School Gardening in School Feeding Program
Recognize the important of improving the nutrition and education of children, Cambodia government is implementing school feeding program collaboratively with local and international NGOs. The implementation of this program will improve food security, education, health and nutrition, local economy and agriculture, partnership and coordination across...
Chilies are one of the most important and widely consumed spices in Cambodia, as well as a source of income for many smallholder farmers. However, chilies production faces several challenges, such as low productivity, high input costs, pest and disease outbreaks, lack of quality seeds and planting materials, poor post-harvest handling and marketing...
Cassava is a key agricultural commodity in Cambodia, where it ranks second only to rice in terms of production and consumption. The cassava sector in Cambodia offers significant opportunities for improving food security, rural livelihoods, and bioenergy development. However, the sector faces several post-harvest challenges that affect its quality a...
Agriculture remains significant for Cambodia's economic growth, although the share of GDP and employment has declined in recent years. Agricultural export value has increased from 566 million USD in 2016 to 1,693 million USD in 2021, making its share of total exportsreach 9.64 percent in 2021. China has been one of the main exporting destinations...