Many farmers in Cambodia use impure and low quality rice seeds, resulting in low yield. They keep their seeds for reproduction in a traditional way or just have an access to seeds in their community. They have planted traditional varieties, of which some of them are not in high market demand.

As seed quality is a major component in increasing yield, TSSD supports the program for production of rice quality seed and selection of varieties on high market demand, which aims at improving the income of the farmers in the target provinces. The project has supported production of quality rice seed and rehabilitation of the two Agriculture Stations (Balang/Kampong Thom and Teuk Vill/Siem Reap) with necessary facilities for processing and storage to ensure a reliable supply of certified rice seed to the Rice Seed Producer Groups (RSPGs). The Stations buy the Foundation Seeds with selected varieties on high demand from CARDI for the production of certified rice seeds.

At the same time, the project has established and supported the 31 RSPGs across the five provinces for production of commercial rice seeds by using certified seeds from the two stations. These RSPGs will produce commercial rice seeds for sale to LIG farmers and other buyers with sufficient and timely supply. One RSPG, with 25 members (17 women) in Santuk district of KPT province, has been supported by the project since early 2013. During the first half of 2014, this group sold around 11 tons of good quality seeds to farmers in their commune and surrounding areas.