Date palm cultivation will be introduced to Cambodia following the signing of a memorandum of understanding yesterday between local firm Kheng Lay Co Ltd and Chiang Mai-based Daily Green Co Ltd, which outlined a partnership plan.
According to the agreement, Cambodian farmers are to be educated on the commercial benefits of date palm cultivation, with the Thai company supplying seeds, saplings and technical support to those who choose to grow the cash crop.
“Date palms can be more competitive and provide more benefits to farmers than growing other crops, such as pepper,” said Kheng Lay owner Kheng Chantha, who added that he had successfully grown date palms on a 10-hectare experimental farm in Kandal province.
Daily Green has more than 10 years’ experience in the commercial cultivation and production of date palms in Thailand, and processes dates into more than 20 kinds of products, according to its president Pornpattarawadee Wongpantanan.
Date palms take roughly three years to bear fruit but can live for decades. Around 200 palms can be grown on one hectare of land at an investment of between $1,700 and $2,500, which can yield about 50 tonnes (or $425,000 at the current wholesale prices of dates).
For more on this story, click here.
