Only a small percentage of farmers in the targeted districts of Aoral, Thpong and Phnom Sruoch in Kampong Speu province process their crops after harvest. The drop in market prices for individual crops often leads to wastage. Farmers prefer to leave them fallow in the field rather than pay for the cost of transporting them, which is higher than their earnings. But by processing them, they can be preserved and their value increased. These products can then be used as nutritional enrichment in the diet of target families or as an additional source of income. However, the lack of local training opportunities in this field is a barrier; there is no vocational-technical training centre dedicated to food processing. The location of the area is also relatively remote, far for commuting to other similar centres.

The project offers the solution of building a centre that will target capacity building for agricultural cooperatives (ACs) and their adult members in food processing. Emphasis will also be placed on supporting the ACs in setting up small business activities in food processing. The ACs will be supported both technically through training and the introduction of new technologies, but also through training to develop their skills in financial planning and management, business plan development, market research or internet literacy and internet marketing. The project will be implemented by the local office of Diakonia CCE Centre for Humanitarian and Development Cooperation together with the local partner Life With Dignity. The project will be professionally supported by the Czech private company Holistic Solution in cooperation with experts from Mendel University in Brno and the Czech-Cambodian start-up Kokopon.