IBIS Rice venture improving farm life, saving wildlife across Kingdom

Human behaviour is a tricky thing to reliably control or predict. Some people will respond better to incentives and rewards – the proverbial carrot – while others are immune to such bribery and only do the right thing out of fear of the stick (proverbial or not). Most fall somewhere on a spectrum in-between and can be influenced by either or even both at the same time.

One local Cambodian NGO chose the path of carrots as the way forward in advancing their cause – and in more ways than one. Sansom Mlup Prey (SMP) is the NGO in question and it’s poured its efforts and resources into supporting meaningful agricultural livelihoods in order to provide alternatives to the destructive – but unfortunately often lucrative – activities like logging and poaching.

Founded in 2009 by the Wildlife Conservation Society, SMP works to protect the environment and its wildlife through the application of organic and wildlife-friendly agriculture in communities located in protected areas and critical habitats.

There are two programmes they focus on. The first is the IBIS Rice Programme and the Sustainable Rice Platform. The IBIS Rice Programme is currently operating in four provinces: Preah Vihear, Ratanakiri , Mondulkiri and Steung Treng, while the Sustainable Rice Platform is limited to Kampong Thom.

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