Background
On 21 August 2026 the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries convened a provincial dissemination and selection meeting in Tram Kak district, Takeo province to promote implementation arrangements for the EMPOWER project and to select village lead farmers as local representatives. The provincial project team, district and commune administrations, commune agriculture officers, technical staff and other stakeholders participated in the session.
The EMPOWER project uses selected village lead farmers to coordinate project activities and support beneficiary households at the village level. Village lead farmers are tasked with coordinating installation of project infrastructure, participating in training, sharing technical knowledge with member households, monitoring members, and providing technical advice.
Institutional Role
The Ministry-led meeting framed village lead farmers as an operational link between project teams and local administrations across province, district, commune and village levels. Provincial EMPOWER staff and local authority representatives were assigned roles to facilitate coordinated selection through village chiefs so that lead farmers can participate in on-farm implementation and community organisation activities.
Operational Implications
Designating village lead farmers establishes a local coordination mechanism for day-to-day project activities, including facilitation of training, liaison with private partners at beneficiary households, and aggregation of technical needs to commune-level officers. The stated list of responsibilities for lead farmers includes coordinating infrastructure installation, cooperating with companies at household locations, attending and supporting training sessions, sharing technical knowledge with group members, monitoring progress, and assisting the formation of modern agricultural communities.
Key Development Details
The meeting emphasised practical selection procedures and collaboration across administrative levels to ensure village representatives are equipped to support EMPOWER beneficiaries. The process as described places selection authority at the village level with coordination by village chiefs and support from commune and district agriculture personnel.
Official Source
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries social media post dated 21 August 2026 (provincial dissemination and selection meeting for EMPOWER project).
