Agro-officials get more training before deployment

YANG Saing Koma, secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, addressed the February 13 opening ceremony of a special four-day training course for agricultural officials. The 250 specialists are set to be deployed to farming communities next month.

“We are conducting this additional training to prepare all of you to fulfil your responsibilities as part of the government’s priority agriculture policy,” he told the assembled officials.

He explained that through a combination of in-class training – like the four-day course, held at the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) from February 13-16 – and online studies, the ministry aims to orient and strengthen the capacity of the newly appointed officials.

“For this year’s first phase of the programme, we will deploy an initial group of 250. Later this year, another batch of 800 will be posted. In 2025, an additional 550 will be deployed, giving us a total of 1,600. They will offer technical support to farmers in over 1,500 communes throughout the Kingdom,” he said.

Also attending the ceremony was ministry spokesman Nuth Chan Sokha. He explained that the deployment of the officials aims to bring agricultural services and specialist consultative support closer to farmers.

He added that the first batch of officials will be posted to 250 communes in 89 districts of 17 provinces.

“We organised this four-day training to orientate all of you. What you will learn is very important, as each of the topics chosen for the training is related to the agricultural sector, including leadership and management,” he continued.

Nhin Ra, one of the newlyappointed officials, is set to assist farmers in Chamro Yeun commune, in Preah Vihear province’s Sangkum Thmei district, his home region.

He said he was elated he had passed the examination to become a part of the state employment framework. He expects to put all of the knowledge acquired in the training into practice once he begins working with the farmers in the commune.

“I vow to use the knowledge I gain to assist farmers in my commune, especially regarding technical problems and market issues. These are the two major problems facing the farmers there,” he added.

According to the ministry, during the four-day training, the officials will acquire a better understanding of their mission, the laws and ethics surrounding civil servants, staff management, the basics relating to administrative formalities, and commune management structures.