Étude sur les chaînes de valeur du riz biologique via l’agriculture contractuelle

Lieu : Cambodge
Organisation : Ucoopia Cambodia
Type : Stage / Travail de fin d'études
Durée : À définir

Terms of Reference for Internships in the Ucoopia Actions

The Study on Organic Rice Value Chains Through Contract Farming in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia

  • Background

Uni4Coop is a coordination platform created by four Belgian university NGOs that are ECLOSIO (the NGO of the University of Liège), Louvain Coopération (the NGO of the Catholic University of Louvain), FUCID (University of Namur) and ULB – Coopération (Free University of Brussels). The 4 NGOs are all engaged in development and international cooperation projects, mainly financed by the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid(DGD), Belgium. Uni4Coop's specificity is to contribute to development by mobilizing the human and scientific resources of the university community. 

In Cambodia, Uni4Coop is represented by ECLOSIO and Louvain Cooperation (LC). The programs of intervention include (i) Sustainable Food Systems (SFS), (ii) and Health, with an emphasis on non-communicable diseases and mental health. Under the SFS program, the Partnership for Agroecology Transition, Networking and Efficient Resilience (PArTNER) project provides direct financial and technical supports to the ALiSEA network (https://ali-sea.org/) and Farmer Organization (FO) partners including Agricultural Cooperatives (ACs) and Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (UACs) in Battambang, Takeo and Kampong Thom provinces, with additional technical supports from other partners and collaborators of the project.

The outcome pursued by the PArTNER project is to generate economic and social changes of the Cambodian rural farmer families by improving Cambodian food market through agroecological transition and gender equity in agriculture.

The PArTNER project aims at enhancing FOs’ capacities in their business management, in promoting agroecology transition among the FOs’ members and stakeholders, strengthening FOs’ institutional functions, building market linkages for the products of ACs and UACs, increasing access to finance as well as reinforcing collaborations between FOs and relevant stakeholders.

The PArTNER project contributes to the following five results:

  • Result 1: Small-scale farmers and their family members improve their knowledge and capacity to ensure sustainable, healthy, diversified and culturally appropriate food production.
  • Result 2: Value-chains and market access of products from agroecological practices are upgraded
  • Result 3: Improved governance to favour peasant rights, gender equity and democratization of decision-making space
  • Result 4: Improved sustainable and healthier consumption patterns
  • Result 5: Innovations derived from the experimentation by small-scale farmers in the agroecology transitions, the upgrading of value chain and the better governance are consolidated in research-actions, studies or systematizations that are co-constructed with farmers and disseminated for their internal and external valorisation, in particular to influence policies and decision-making in favour of the transition to AE.

In order to build a strong relationship between Uni4Coop’s team at the field and the Academia at the University of Liége, participation from students and professors to capitalize on-the-ground practices is always welcome. Internship has become a part of the project where students from Belgium are mobilized to work with local students in Cambodia in a co-learning program to develop knowledge products benefited to both the project and the academic advancement.

  • Preamble

Since 2024, CIRAD (the French agricultural research and international cooperation organization working for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions), which is an Ucoopia’s counterpart, has been carrying out a qualitative analysis of the contractual organic farming processes and its evolution in Preah Vihear province​, which is a part of the Agroecology and Safe Food System Transitions (ASSET) project. In 2024, a student’s study investigated how various contracts actually and effectively function – i.e., the sequence of coordinated actions carried out by different actors leading to the effective sale of production -: This made it possible to identify all actors involved, beyond those officially named in the contractual documents. In 2025, another study is investigating the strength of the relationships between the main actors of the organic rice contract and the perceptions of the different actors of contract farming and of the role of agricultural Cooperatives (AC). Thus, the main evolution of organic rice contract farming has been identified as well as the challenges and opportunities for Preah Vihear Meanchey Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (PMUAC), private sectors, AC and farmers.

  • Purpose of the Study for this New Internship

The general objectives of the new intern’s study are to quantify the different mechanisms identified that affects the functioning of the contracts in general and especially the difference between volume of organic rice engaged and volume of rice delivered.This study will involve quantitative survey with farmers in 4 to 6 ACs along with analysis of associated data. It will also mobilize secondary data from 2025 qualitative survey that have not entirely analyzed.

Specific interests will be on:

  • Quantifying engagement/disengagement from organic contract farming between years;
  • Quantifying level of risks or opportunities faced by farmers in organic production and contract engagement;
  • Quantifying the level knowledge and understanding on contract terms;
  • Quantifying the different category of contract failure (difference between volume engaged and delivered).
  • General Principles Underlying the Internship

The Intern will be supervised, on the one hand, by the pedagogical staff of the institution from which he/she is from, and on the other hand by Dr. Raphaelle Ducrot, a researcher from CIRAD based in Cambodia (for academic study) and as well as the staff of Ucoopia (headquarters and in Cambodia office for operation). Ucoopia will be attentive to the technical orientation of the works, their harmonization and their continuity.

The student will have to follow at least a training before his/her departure ("Agriculture and Cooperation" "preparation to departure").

The student involved in the internship will in turn act as a global education and solidarity education (ECMS) by engaging, by testimonials, video and photo reports, the writing of articles for the Periodical of Ucoopia.

  • Duration and Desired Period of the Internship
  • Up to4 months for Master 2, starting in January 2026
  • Internship Location
  • Country: Cambodia
  • Provinces: Preah Vihear
  • Methodologies and Steps of the Study

The study will involve:

  • Developing research methodologies with the support from academic supervisors;
  • Collecting data at the field fromorganic rice farmers in Preah Vihear province, and from other actors who work in organic rice farming and value chains, includingthe government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and private sectors; and
  • Processing the data and developinghis/her thesis based on the results of the study.
  • Products Expected by Ucoopia and Its Partners

The main expected deliverables for this internship are: (1) a Summary Report concluding the overall results of the study, (2) a digital copy of the final thesis, and (3) before finishing the trip in Cambodia, the student will be obliged to organize a restitution meeting to share the preliminary results of the study with Ucoopia and its partners.

  • Internship conditions
  • Financial Conditions:

Financially, no scholarship is awarded by Ucoopia to the student. The internwill need to pay for their plane ticket and meals. However, facilities are provided on site for accommodation and travel of the intern. However, the expenses incurred for the realization of the project (through the internship) are covered by Ucoopia. The detailed information is listed in the table below:

Air ticket AR

To be spent by intern

Food

To be spent by intern

Conditions of accommodation (place and care)

Supported by Ucoopia (Only accommodation fees related to the internship are reimbursable)

On-site transportation (conditions and management)

Supported by Ucoopia (Only travel fees related to the internship are reimbursable)

Equipment and logistics Access to a desk, a computer, the internet, etc.

To be spent by intern (However, Ucoopia has a country office where the intern can work at for desk review and for other research purposes)

Other expenses related to the study subject of the internship

Supported by Ucoopia by respecting the procedures of engagement

Other expenses

To be spent by intern

Conditions of supervision on the spot

  • The academic supervisor of the intern in Cambodia is Dr. Raphaelle Ducrot, a French Researcher from CIRAD, based in Cambodia.
  • The field supervisor of the intern in Cambodia is Mr. MEY Veata, Sustainable Food Systems Program Manager, Ucoopia – Cambodia.
  • Working Conditions:
  • Working hours: full time
  • Peer Learning: You will carry out the internship in collaboration with a local intern from a local research institute or university, who will carry out similar research and provide support to you in logistics and translation when meet with farmers and stakeholders.
  • Profile Sought
  • Studies and Research Areas:
  • Master Student in Agro-Economy and Agricultural Marketing, or related fields.
  • Languages ​​
  • The intern will have to prove a sufficient level of Englishto enable his / her to communicate with the field teams and partners.
  • Behavioural and Professional Aptitude:
  • Good autonomy and organization of work,
  • Good capacity for innovation and scientific rigor,
  • Motivation and ability to meet challenges
  • Good communication skills and good listening skills.
  • Good ability to work in extreme weather conditions.
  • Good writing skills: a brief monthly report will be requested according to a template provided previously.
  • Contact Person

Claire Wiliquet, responsible for civic education and communication at the email address claire.wiliquet@eclosio.ong.

Please send your CV + cover letter for the day / month / year at the latest.

Attention, the applications will be treated as and when they arrive.

Contact

📧 alienor.pirlet@eclosio.ong

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