De Heus Cambodia secures $15m loan from Asian Development Bank
De Heus-TMH, with production capacity of 180,000 metric tons of livestock feed, is a joint venture between Netherlands headquartered, De Heus Animal and Cambodia’s TMH company Ltd. The JV supplies feed to poultry, pig, and fish farmers in that market.
The additional storage and procurement of processing machinery enabled by the credit facility will promote efficient feed production, according to a statement issued from ADB. This will allow the JV partners to buy more local raw materials like maize, rice, and cassava from smallholder farmers within its supply chain, enabling a supply of affordable, high-quality feed farmers, it reads.
With investments in storage, maize can be stored for more extended periods, making the supply chain less dependent on climate-related vulnerability, according to the loan provider.
“By supporting De Heus-TMH, we are helping to strengthen the feed value chain, improve livelihoods of feed crop, livestock, and fish farmers, and support sustainable and resilient agricultural practices,” said ADB country director for Cambodia, Jyotsana Varma. “Developing locally sourced, high-quality, and affordable animal feed supply is integral in safeguarding Cambodia’s food security and reducing reliance on imported feed inputs.”
“De Heus-TMH is committed to empower the independent farmers in Cambodia. The strategic cooperation agreement with ADB, in combination with our focus on training and knowledge sharing, will support and accelerate the sustainable development of the Cambodian animal protein supply chain,” said De Heus Asia CEO, Gabor Fluit.
Training smallholders
Moreover, a technical assistance grant, supported by the Asian Development Fund Private Sector Window (PSW), which is managed by the ADB, will support training for 2,000 maize and 2,000 poultry farmers, locally, many of them women, in climate-resilient farm practices and financial literacy.
“Supporting women farmers will help strengthen their positions within farms and boost their access to finance to expand their businesses,” noted the ADB.
The PSW supports private sector development in frontier markets.
