The Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction and Smallholder Development Project receives IFAD’s Gender Award in Rome, Italy, on February 14. ADB
A Cambodian poverty reduction and smallholder development project has won the prestigious International Fund for Agricultural Development ‘s (IFAD) Gender Award.
The “Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction and Smallholder Development Project – Additional Financing (TSSD-AF)” – which has been implemented since 2018 by the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development Secretariat (NCDDS) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries – was rewarded for its strong results-based commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of rural women in agriculture.
The project improves rural women’s livelihoods and access to finance in its seven target provinces, mostly located in the Tonle Sap Basin.
The project was honoured following a “highly competitive” selection process among nominees from 177 countries around the world to represent Asia and the Pacific region, explained a February 23 Asian Development Bank (ADB) press release.
The award was presented at an official event in Rome, Italy on February 14-15, with Ny Kim San, TSSD-AF project manager, Morn Leakhena, board director of the Farmers Livelihood Improvement Association, and Lim Sereyroth, a gender advisor, representing the team.
“It was a great honour for me to be part of the team that represented the women beneficiaries of the project. They are enjoying better living conditions, securing their higher education for their children and expanding their businesses. As a project beneficiary and a Cambodian, I am very proud of these achievements,” said Leakhena.
According to the release, the project is co-financed by the government, the ADB and IFAD. The project has driven up women’s representation to 60 per cent in management committees across its 270 target communes.
“The project has significantly improved Cambodia’s agricultural resources and developed long-term sustainability for its agricultural sector in seven provinces, benefiting some 650,000 households, especially small-holder farmers trapped in prolonged poverty,” it added.
The TSSD-AF project costs $66 million, with $6 million provided by the government, $50 million by ADB, and $10 million from the IFAD, it explained.
“As a key part of its Pentagonal Strategy – and its predecessor, the Rectangular Strategy – the government places a high priority on inclusive, sustainable, and resilient poverty reduction. The TSSD-AF project prioritises inclusion of women, particularly those from smallholding farmers who may be trapped in poverty,” said Kim San.
“By enhancing agricultural productivity and diversification, as well as improving access to markets, it produces better livelihoods in the project areas,” he added.
