His Excellency Veng Sakhon, Cambodia’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, witnessed manufacturing of U.S. soy-based feeds on January 5 during a tour of an ASA/WISHH strategic partner’s feed mill in Cambodia. The Minister applauded AgriMaster’s accomplishments as Cambodia’s first factory for aquaculture feeds. He also offered his support for the company’s continued progress that is key to Cambodia’s goals for growth of the quantity and quality of Cambodia’s aquaculture production.
In 2020, ASA/WISHH’s work led to AgriMaster purchasing the majority of 12,900 metric tons of AGP soybean meal. The U.S. soy shipped from the Pacific Northwest to Vietnam and then went to Cambodia. The most recent shipment arrived on January 4, 2021. AgriMaster is currently manufacturing 600 tons of fish feed per month in addition to feeds for swine, poultry, and other animals.
The company is a key industry partner in WISHH’s USDA-funded U.S. Department of Agriculture Food for Progress Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainability Trade (CAST) – Cambodia project that is developing a lasting aquaculture industry in Cambodia. AgriMaster General Manager Rady Chea is also a board member in the Cambodian Aquaculturalist Association (CAA) that CAST helped launch in 2020.
WISHH began working with Cambodian aquaculture prior to CAST. For example, WISHH sent technical consultants from Kansas State University as well as the Fargo-based Northern Crops Institute to advise AgriMaster and other Cambodian enterprises. These foundational trainings included feed formulation, best production practices, feed safety, and the benefits of using U.S. soybean meal.
Photo caption: AgriMaster General Manager Rady Chea (in white shirt, second from right) describes the company’s feed production process to His Excellency Veng Sakhon, Cambodia’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, on January 5. AgriMaster is an ASA/WISHH strategic partner and a U.S. soy customer. The company’s most recent shipment of soybean meal from AGP arrived at AgriMaster’s dock on January 4.