OVERVIEW
Over the past ten years, IFC has supported the private sector and industry to achieve
transformational changes in the Cambodian rice sector, so that the country can better integrate
into regional and global economies. IFC worked to add value to every step of the supply chain –
“from farm to fork” – with interventions at key levels such as farming, milling, and exporting.
Through concerted efforts, IFC helped to raise product quality and operational efficiency by building
capacity at the firm level, promoting standards and certifications, and promoting the use of cleaner processing technology as well as food safety systems (ISO, HACCP, GMP/GHP).
IFC has an interest to explore market-based approaches to expand the nutritious food (rice and rice
by-products) sector in Cambodia. Beyond the limited reach of public and donor support
programmes that address at-risk target groups, there is a clear need now to engage the
private/commercial sector to reach the society at large. Nutritious and, as needed, fortified foods,
must become available, desirable, and affordable to the general population.

More recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has further reinforced the need of having a robust food
fortification system on national levels. In the course of the pandemic, when the whole world is
affected, nutritious food should be a high priority in a Country like Cambodia.

KEY QUESTIONS
• In which countries is fortified rice commercially marketed and successfully accepted by
consumers?
• What happened in Cambodia after the successful school feeding pilots supported by WFP?
Was any scaling up initiated? By whom?
• What are the lessons learnt/conclusions drawn by the UN and NGO institutions who were
leading the social interventions with fortified rice in Cambodia?
• How can public-private partnerships help support food fortification?
• What does it take to get the private sector in Cambodia engaging and investing in food
fortification (rice and rice by-products) and the commercial marketing of fortified food
products?

GOAL OF THE EVENT
1. To explore the role of private sector in promoting the commercialization of nutritious food
(rice/rice by-products) in Cambodia, and to identify supply chain actors ready for IFC to engage.
2. To determine whether there are next steps that IFC could play roles, and to engage in this space