Khmer Agriculture for the Future Accelerator

An equity-free accelerator to scale the impact of ventures in climate-resilient agriculture and agroecology.

100% of participants reported that the program effectively addressed their challenges

75 +

NPS score

60 +

Total mentoring hour

About the Khmer Agriculture for the Future Accelerator

As the second edition of the Khmer Agriculture for the Future (KAF) program, the KAF Accelerator supported agri-businesses and agricultural cooperatives to scale their operations and promote climate-resilient agriculture and agroecology across four targeted provinces. Each of the eight selected ventures received $7,500 in grant funding, along with financial and technical support from our resident mentors to improve operations, adopt sustainable practices, and expand market opportunities—ultimately benefiting smallholder farmers in their networks.

A key feature of the program was its strong focus on 1-1 mentoring, where ventures worked closely with expert mentors to address core business and operational challenges. While we maintained the cohort-wide learning aspect to encourage collaboration, the tailored mentoring helped resolve day-to-day bottlenecks and included support for core team members—not just CEOs—to strengthen internal capacity. From the opening bootcamp to the final Demo Day, the program facilitated strategic connections with ecosystem players, helping ventures build the relationships needed to scale their impact.

Meet the inspiring changemakers

Tasey Samaki Agricultural Cooperative

Growing high-quality vegetables in mesh greenhouses, plus offering construction, training, and loans for farmers — enhancing agricultural productivity in Battambang and supporting farmers’ livelihoods.

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Cambodian Standard Development & Supply Co., Ltd

CSDS is a wholesale distributor of organic produce. They work with over 5,000 farmers, providing training in Good Agricultural Practices to improve farmer livelihoods and boost local production.

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Phum Khtum Agricultural Cooperative

Phum Ktum AC boosts clean cassava production in Oddar Meanchey, benefiting nearly 500 farmers. They aim to expand their network and output, focusing on improved cultivation, team capacity, and market connections.

Borey Akpiwat Agricultural Cooperative

Borey Apiwat AC in Banteay Meanchey specialises in rice production with 135 farmers using SRP standards. Their goals include improving cultivation techniques and expanding partnerships with millers.

Battambang Union of Agricultural Cooperatives

BUAC specialises in rice production. Its nethouses yield 6+ tons of vegetables daily and 8,000 tons of rice annually. BUAC is working to improve their market reach, adoption of cover cropping, and farmer yields.

Our Approach

Unblocking Business Bottlenecks

Our resident mentors worked closely with each venture through extensive 1-1 sessions to diagnose key challenges and identify areas of potential. Together, they developed clear action plans to guide progress throughout the program. We also brought in external experts on key topics—such as market value chains and financial forecasting—and extended our support beyond the CEO to include core management teams, ensuring a more holistic and practical learning experience.

Real Adoption of Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA)

Our CRA mentor provided in-depth learning on practical CRA practices, including net-houses, cover cropping, crop diversification, and contract farming. These sessions were delivered both online and in person, including hands-on training for farmers and beneficiaries. This was aided by additional support from the provincial Nurture project teams, which facilitated and advised on CRA training in the four target provinces, helping ensure real adoption on the ground.

Peer Community

We facilitated peer coaching circles where ventures discussed real-time challenges, shared advice, and asked questions around business and CRA. These sessions helped build a strong sense of peer connection across the cohort—and in many cases, led to new business partnerships between the teams.

Increased Visibility

While many actors work in CRA in Cambodia, private sector and start-up solutions often remain under the radar. From day one, the program helped elevate the visibility of the ventures by introducing them to key ecosystem players and producing high-quality promotional videos—many of which garnered tens of thousands of organic views.

“For years, we struggled to grow our business and better support our members in the cassava industry. The program came at the right time—helping us adopt climate-resilient practices that improved our yields and strengthened product quality. It also opened our eyes to the challenges in the domestic market and guided us to explore alternative crops with potential in Oddar Meanchey. Now, we have a clearer path to diversify and build long-term sustainability for our cooperative.”

“What we appreciated about the program was how hands-on and committed the mentors were. They weren’t afraid to ask the hard questions and spent hours sitting down with us to really understand the challenges we were facing. Instead of simply telling us what to fix, they worked with us to find practical solutions and supported us throughout the process. We received a lot of meaningful help in a short amount of time—even on issues that weren’t officially part of the program, the mentors were still willing to step in and help us solve them.”

“For over two decades, we’ve been part of Cambodia’s agricultural value chain, but hadn’t yet made the leap to become a key player. The program gave us the support and visibility we needed to regain confidence and develop clear strategies to reach more farmers. We’re now investing in production and designing new machinery tailored to real needs—so we can continue contributing to a more efficient and sustainable agriculture sector.”

Impact in number

$60,000

in grant funding mobilized to help ventures scale their businesses

new jobs created during the program period

1,774

farmers onboarded during the program period

7 out of 8

ventures increased their income after the program

4 out of 8

ventures are piloting or scaling the production of cover crops for the first time across all four target provinces

Story of impact

Bringing a Local Agri-Machinery Brand Back Into Focus

Larano entered the program after years of financial struggle, but a mix of tailored mentoring and renewed visibility helped reintroduce them to the market. Since then, their story has gained attention from many local content creators and customers in the agri sector, sparking steady sales growth and a 2x revenue increase within six months. This turnaround restored both their business performance and the confidence and credibility they needed to stay competitive in Cambodia’s agri-machinery sector.

A New Step Forward for Climate-Resilient Agriculture

With technical guidance and financial backing from the program, Borey Apiwath and Phum Ktum Agricultural Cooperative rolled out their first cover-crop pilot and set up a demo farm for members to see the results in their own fields. It’s still early, but this pilot sends a clear signal to the sector: agriculture cooperatives can adopt CRA practices in a practical way, create new income streams, and strengthen the support they offer farmers in Banteay Meanchey and Oddar Meanchey.

Redefining Leadership in Cambodia’s Agri Sector

This cohort marked an important milestone in gender representation, with five out of eight ventures led or represented by women. They remained consistently engaged throughout the accelerator and demonstrated strong leadership in driving change in their communities, challenging traditional gender roles in agriculture and showing what is possible when women have the platform and support to lead. Their presence and performance signal a fundamental shift in who is shaping the future of Cambodia’s agricultural landscape.

Snapshots

Get Inspired!

Discover how these ventures are transforming the landscape of agriculture across Cambodia.

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Evaluation Report

2024

Baseline Evaluation Report

The baseline evaluation of the KAF Accelerator shows strong growth in venture revenue and high participation from female farmers. The program improved market access and agricultural yields, though gender income disparities remain. It highlights the success of climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) but calls for addressing income gaps and strengthening support.

2024

Endline Evaluation Report

The endline evaluation reveals an 87% revenue increase for ventures, but farmers’ incomes dropped by 54% due to price volatility and border conflicts. Recommendations include enhancing market access, improving impact measurement, and investigating border conflict effects to better support farmers in future programs.

In the news

Eight Agricultural Ventures Scale Up After KAF Accelerator Completion

Scaling Regenerative Agriculture in Cambodia: Business and Partnership Forum

Want to get involved?

Get in touch with the Program Manager, Chermeng: [email protected] | Telegram: (+855) 69 676 650

An equity-free accelerator to scale the impact of ventures in climate-resilient agriculture and agroecology.​

NPS score

Total mentoring hour

About the Khmer Agriculture for the Future Accelerator