Cassava makes chicken farmer in Prey Lang community more profitable from chicken raising.

Before joined the project, Mrs. Sam Sophal is a farmer who grows cassava, grows rice and raises 10 hens, 2 roosters and 40 chicks which it was raised traditionally, without any knowledge of disease control, health care, and feeding chickens. As she does not have sufficient knowledge of how to better manage her farm, she was not able to earn much money and she has some challenges with access to broken rice and rice brain, its price is more expensive than other areas. 

After joining the project in early 2022, until December 2022, the raw materials such as broken rice and rice brain were expensive, so her poultry farming was less profitable. To help reduce the production costs, project has introduced materials that are easy to find near her homes and cheaper than rice. Currently, she mixes feed using the following recipes: 1.5 kg of market feed, 1.2 kg of broken rice, 3 kg of bran, 2.5 kg of dried cassava, 3 kg of vegetables (Water spinach, Azola), 1 teaspoon of salt and 10 cc of vitamin juice from ripe fruit for 300 chickens a day.

Cassava is one of the main ingredients with good source of nutrients which it can substitute for energy feed such as broken rice, rice brain. Farmer can use 15% to 30% of dried cassava. Cassava is also easy to access since a lot of people in her community grow it. After providing with this feed, we can see that chicken growing, feather, and skin are good and healthy. Especially, we found that her expenses were lower and more profitable that its help to reduce her production cost from 14000 riels to 12000 riels per head. ‘I never expect that dried cassava can use as a chicken feed to reduce my production cost like this’ Sophal says.

Especially, we found that her expenses were lower and more profitable that its help to reduce her production cost from 14000 riels to 12000 riels per head. ‘I never expect that dried cassava can use as a chicken feed to reduce my production cost like this’ Sophal says.

Currently, Sophal earn the total of 200.000 riel (KHR) to 240.000 riel (KHR) per month as net income. “I appreciate the project support, as I learned new skills/technique that helped boost my business. I would like to encourage people to consider poultry as a business to help them earn extra income", Sophal shares.

Thought the support of Dev4SCALE project, Sophal was able to set an example to her community through her personal journey in learning new skills and new techniques. She played an important role for the farmers in the community to share her experiences in raising chicken with them as well.

Mrs. Sam Sophal and her husband says, “we have a better life after joined the project, which can earn income to support their children's education and livelihood”.