Activities
Strengthening the research and education of Royal University of Agriculture Cambodia: Assoc. Prof. Kasumi Ito
Cambodia has been struggling with reconstruction, development, and poverty reduction since the end of its longstanding civil war in 1991. Although the country has already achieved food self-sufficiency, both its quantity and quality remain at low levels, and most rural farmers still suffer from low income caused by low productivity, poor quality, and low prices. The country's agricultural university, therefore, has the important role and responsibility of identifying agricultural issues and their solutions through research and capacity building based on field surveys. However, Cambodia's shortage of human resources, due to genocide and social disruption of the Pol Pot Regime, is still so severe as to disrupt their expected roles.
ICCAE has supported the strengthening of education and research in RUA, including the introduction of credit-based curricula in 2001, the establishment of a master's course in 2002, and the establishment of a Ph.D. course in 2006. Recently, ICCAE has undertaken a 'Practical research and education' in both RUA and the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, following both an Agreement for Academic Exchange and Cooperation and a Student Exchange Memorandum between them.