Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina on April 27 met with UNIDO’s SDG managing director Gunther Beger to outline the ministry’s plans for achieving food security and economic sustainability.

Tina discussed the work with Beger at the ministry headquarters in Phnom Penh, where he also met with a Chinese delegation on the same day regarding agricultural exports to China.

According to the ministry's social media post, Tina told Beger that it is necessary to ensure the balanced use of land so that farmers can continue to cultivate crops year round and to earn income and increase profits. But the minister noted that many farmers need to learn the techniques and access the technology necessary to produce standard quality products to supply market demands throughout the year.

Tina requested that Beger facilitate UNIDO’s cooperation in this area and look into the possibility of studying this issue as well as help to strengthen the capacity of the ministry’s laboratory, as it is a priority goal this year.

Tina said the ministry’s goal is to achieve food security, food safety and economic sustainability. Therefore, Cambodia will not compete for quantity, but for quality to benefit the environment and produce food in a way that does not harm forests.

Separately at the ministry on April 27, Tina also met with experts from the Foreign Economic Cooperation Centre (FECC) under China's Ministry of Agriculture and Development Affairs.

Tina was quoted by the post as telling the Chinese delegation that the ministry will boost quality, safety, sanitary and phyto-sanitary production of agricultural products for export to China, noting that the work will require better techniques, business plans and strategies as well as the implementation of policies laid out by the ministry.