Thirty schools in Siem Reap, Battambang and Kampong Thom will participate in a two-year pilot project to host vegetable gardens to improve nutrition and teach students life skills, starting in December, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Friday.

According to the FAO, “nutrition security remains a key issue affecting a majority of the population in rural and urban areas” due to poverty and lack of knowledge about nutrition.

“A report of the Ministry of Planning in 2014 showed that 32 per cent of the children under 5 years of age in Cambodia have stunted growth,” said Chea Samnang, director of the rural health care department of the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

“This shows . . . a serious lack of nutrition.” The project will establish a pool of master trainers and teachers who will be able to pass on their skills and knowledge to other teachers and schoolchildren.