AKP Phnom Penh, July 23, 2026 --

The Cambodia Agricultural Science Academy (CASA) hosted an international conference on Thursday to consider expanding the number of technical working groups for water governance and food production in four provinces.

Cambodia currently has two such groups at Boeung Ream in Santuk district in Kampong Thom province and Boeung Sneh in Ba Phnom, Peam Ror and Svay Antor districts in Prey Veng province, developed as pilot projects over the past two years.

To set up the groups, the government’s former Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute — now the Fisheries-Aquaculture Research and Development Institute (FARDI) — has been collaborating with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka and WorldFish in Malaysia. The Cambodia Development Research Institute (CDRI) has also been providing technical assistance.

Under the programme, the district-level working groups aim to maintain the multi-functionality of aquatic ecosystems that support food, nutrition and income security.

Objectives include improving ecosystem health and restoring biodiversity, securing water resources for diverse food production systems, strengthening local ownership of infrastructure and management practices, and reducing resource conflicts.

IWMI and WorldFish are among 13 research centres in the CGIAR network, formed as the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research in 1971.

The consortium’s governing council includes representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.

CGIAR includes the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has been active in Cambodia for more than 60 years.

By Sao Da