BRM Agro's Impact

BMR Agro is a company that blends agriculture, technology, and finance to empower smallholder farmers in Cambodia.

 

BRM Agro’s business model is to buy land that is inaccessible and at risk of flooding, upgrade that land and the surrounding area through the construction of berms and irrigation canals as well as land levelling (and develop extended access to water and newly built roads).

 

  • In 2015, we constructed a 13-kilometre road linking Highway 6 to our farm in Kampong Thom. This road opened up over 20,000 hectares of farmland that were minimally farmed beforehand.
  • The canals built alongside the road were linked to the Royal Cambodian Government’s new canal project, and by 2019, provided all farmers in the area the ability to grow two crops per year which substantially has raised income levels.
  • Our land is rented out to local farmers paired with a suite of value-added services to improve productivity and quality.
  • Farmers still retain the right to opt out of BRM’s system and may purchase inputs and services from other suppliers and/or sell their rice harvest to other buyers
     

 

Gender Empowerment


BRM Agro is a firm believer in providing and promoting gender equity, and by empowering women we believe this improves the returns on investment, increases profits, and benefits Cambodian society.

 

A number of our programs have been initiated to encourage gender inclusiveness: 

  • At least 50% of all rice farmers in BRM Agro’s supply network are currently women.
  • Single Mother Support Program - This program supports single mothers with child care, school fee support, and free meals.
  • Leadership Roles - Under the partnership with USAID MSP, BRM Agro will target at least 30% of all new hires to be qualified women.
  • Established and enforces a Gender Workplace Protection and Anti Harassment Policy.

 

 

BRM Agro Farmer Support Team

 
Our team works closely with hundreds of farmers to help improve knowledge and practice of the best effective methods of farming.

 

  • We offer a comprehensive support package to farming families that lease their land; this includes up-front & interest-free financing on key farming inputs.
  • We assist with access to our supply chains, drying, and milling services.
  • Help improve soil management and use of fertilisers, the timing of planting, and drone spraying of pesticides and herbicides, as well as with efficient harvesting methods
  • Integrated pest management.
  • Help educate and modernise farming practices so smallholder farmers can increase their rice yields and meet BRM Agro's standards of quality.
  • Provide high-quality rice seed developed on BRM Agro’s test farm.
  • Our 1 MT jumbo rice bags make the packing and labour much more manageable for farmers. 
     

 

Cambodian Organic Products And Sustainable Farming


BRM Agro strives to ensure sustainable farming practices and increase organic rice yields:

  • We utilise rice husks to power the dryers; the resulting BioChar is mixed into Bokhashi organic fertiliser to replenish the soil on the farms.
  • The irrigation system reduces emissions through the control of water - this can be pumped out after the harvest and ground rice straw is introduced into the soil to reduce the breakdown of methane.
  • A new project is testing and utilising innovative cropping and ground cover to regenerate soil helping rice crops to be more resilient to the effects of climate change while reducing emissions that normally occur in rice production.
  • BRM Agro expects to significantly increase its organic and non-organic rice sales through the MSP partnership.
  • BRM Agro will continue to develop its partnership with the Preah Vihear Agricultural Cooperative in the province to source more certified organic rice which will be milled in BRM's EcoCert-qualified mill.

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