. cambodia's capital, phnom

penh. it's a city growing fast and in all directions. the construction frenzy is fueled by an economy that's growing 7% a year. many of the workers at the building sites migrated from rural arias. here, they can end up to ten times the income they would make farming rice. that's good for workers, not so good for rural areas. the number of abandoned farms is on the rise. many farmers are selling their land to get cash. one man has been working to try to stop the decline of rural areas. he is agricultural scientist. three years ago he set up a school to teach organic farming

methods. his instruction is personal and hands-on. organic farming takes time and effort, but it's les costs costr growers, because no fertilizers and pesticides are used. more over, safe food leads to higher prices, increasing farmers' cash income. at the local market, vendors are selling organic crops grown by his students.

we followed his efforts to develop cambodia's rural areas with organic we're in t apartmea province 70 from phnom penh. we come to his school. this is where he teaches organic farming. the name of this leafy campus means "green sprout." he founded the school three

years ago on 30 hectares of forests land he borrowed from relatives. reclamation work is still continuing. that includes building reservoirs and waterways. the plan is to eventually channel irrigation water across the entire farm. so far, four hectares off farmland have been cultivated, and about 20 people, all rice farmers, are using it to learn new the first part in organic farming is preparing the soil. he has a special method. the first step requires mung

beans. these plants are grown on the farm. they are ready for use two weeks after sow bing seeds. mung means make ideal fertilizer among other uses. after pulling up the beans, they are laid out on the same furrow. this plot is for greenigreen onions. the onions are transplanted from another site. they are spaced about 30 centimeters apart. wider than the normal

in addition to green onions, lemon grass and eggplants are also grown in the same way. he also teaches how to farm organic fruits. he has another trade secret to share. this time involving old tires. a tire is turned inside-out to create a large ring. this will be used as a bowl. the tire is then buried and filled with soil. the soil is mixed with organic fertilizers such as cow manure,

a traditional formula of cambodian farmers. one more ingredient to add. composted mung they can now plant the crop. a papaya after three months, the papie yeahs begin to bear fruit.

the root of the tree is covered with mung beans regularlyo supply it with nutrients. he says growing papaya this way increases their sweetness. old tires also come in handy for something else. growing dragon fruits.s. the dragon fruit plant is actually a cactus. the trunks are tieied to stakes. the tires are used to help them branch. this is a dragon fruit tree six months after planting.

the tires spread the branches in a balanced manner, exposing them evenly to the sunlight. all told, the farm school grows 12 kinds of vegetables and fruits. harvested crops are bundled up and taken to local markets. the income generated pays for the school's operation. his teaching isn't confined to the school. he also goes out to advise farmers in the area. on this date he is visiting ray peep, who is growing dragon greets. peep has been receiving guidance from him for two years. he used to mainly grow rice but converted one hectare of paddy

field to plant dragon fruit. that income is ten times higher than what he made just farming rice. and the new affluence is

showing. this is his new motorcycle. it's a model he could only dream of owning before. the furniture is also new. he says the fine wood table and chairs allow him to entertain guests in style. on the same day, another organic farmer comes to ask for advice. he starts records an interview with him on his smartphone.

heosts the v videos that he shoots on social media. the idea is to tryo spread orgaganic farmingng byy showing successfulul farmers.

located just next to the province is another this man and his wife use organic methods to grow green onions. their one-hectare plot produces a new crop every six weeks. the market price of the onions is 20% higher than normal because people love their fresh taste. however, three months ago they were hit by an unexpected event. the moths laid eggs on the leaves of the onions. not long after,

danger to the onion crop, tam stayed true to the teachings. he refused to use pesticides, which can do serious and long-lasting damage to the soil.

with a new crop in the ground, tam sought advice on how to keep the pests at bay. tam mixes this liquid fertilizer with water and sprinkles it on the field. the moths are repelled by the smell and no longer bother his farm. three months after the pest

invase invai invasion, he was harvesting greeni green onions again. tam has plans to reinvest his income, using it to expand his onion field. tam used to grow rice but left home to work in a tourist resort because he was unable to support his family. two years ago he decided to return to agriculture. after hearing a talk about organic farming. now he earns more income than when he worked at the resort.

kamah was born in 1966. his father was an elementary schoolteacher. when he was 9 years old, the khmer rouge took power. soon after, his father was execututed. khmer roug leader pol pot pursued a visn of agrarian utopia. everyone was forced to work in the cntryside. genocide and starvation killed more tn 1.7 million people. ththe pol pot regime colpsededn

79. but the ensuing civil war dragged on until the early 1990s. the country was devastated, and many people became refugees. faced with a bleak future, kamah decided to go to europe to study agriculture. he returned in 1995, not long after he set up a ngo to provide technical assistance to farmers.

kumah taught an organic method called sri. it was created by a french priest to help poor farmers in madagascar. the goal is to maximize the growth potential of rice samplings. done right, it can significantly increase yield without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. kumah trained staff who could show farmers the techniques and send them to locations across cambodia. in its 20 years of work, 200,000 farmers have adopted sri. three years ago, kumah decided he had to expand beyond

many of the agricultural products sold in the cambodian market are imported from vietnam and other countries. there is a shortage of vegetables and fruits, because farm production is concentrated on rice conservation. in recent years, media reports have also highlighted the health risks of imported food. kumah thought that by growing organic vegetables and fruits farmers could increase their

income while meeting the needs of consumers. farmers who are following kumah's methods for organic cultivation are spread across five different provinces. one of them is a province along cambodia's eastern border with vietnam. the great majority of the population are ethnic minorities. the climate in this area, about 800 meters above sea level, offers ideal conditions for growing pepper and coffee. crops that thrive in sharp temperature differences. this man used to grow cashew nuts in slash and burn farming and switched to coffee four years ago after relatives in vietnam sent him some seeds.

at first, he did not know how to use fertilizer well. and his crop yields were low. then two years ago he met kumah and started to receive instruction in organic fertilizing he took koma's lessons to heart and put them into practice.

his annual harvest tripled to 1.5 tons. soon, he was passing on the teachings to the other farmers. and now 20 households in the area are working on organic coffee cultivation. this cafe is one of five in pa mom p pa mom pen that are using his beans. they are showing interest in how the food they consume is produced.

and that's why koma is also busy educating the public. these phnom penh residents are taking a tour of the farm school. the aim is to look at how pesticide-free food is produced. koma plans to make the tours a regular event. he's also considering renting out plots to people who want hands-on experience of organic cultivation. the push to create new networks between farmers and consumers is taking root.

koma is back on the road. this time he's heading to a gathering of farmers who are growing green onions. all those waiting for him work land in this province. koma has been guidingng t their progress for a year. 11 people take part in thehe meeting.

they start talking about their future production most of them are trying to increase production. but six months ago, a troubling situation arose, and they were all affected. an influx of green onions from vietnam caused prices to tumble. farmers decided to halt shipments until prices recovered. as a result, their onions went to waste.

koma offers some advice. koma says improving farming techniques is not enough. if they want to earn a stable income, the farmers will have to plan ahead and prepare for price fluctuations. organic farming has the potential to enrich cambodia's rural areas. koma has pointed the way

forward, but the journey has just begun.

iran --d trump blames all right. saying it will have a big price to pay -- blames iraq. again. you're watching al jazeera, live from doha. also, kim jong-un vows to weapon.a new about to save homes and lives in australia, the military on standby.