Speech at the Conferment of Degrees of the Royal University of Agriculture and Prek Leap National School of Agriculture

Royal University of Agriculture, February 10th, 2011

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen distinguished national and international guests,
Dear all the students!

It is my pleasure to be here to award certificates and diplomas to those who completed their courses between 2007 – 2010 at the Royal University of Agriculture. This is the 11th time I join the events held by the Royal University of Agriculture, also the 1st time I confer degrees to students of the Prek Leap National School of Agriculture.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to welcome all the participants to this meaningful event, especially all the graduates. This event is an important part of your life and determines your future and your jobs.

I highly value the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as well as the management and lecturers at the Royal University of Agriculture and Prek Leap National School of Agriculture who have been working hard to produce the needed human resources for the sector prioritized under all circumstances. Taking this opportunity, I would like to convey my regards to the management, lecturers and students of Kampong Cham School of Agriculture who are not present in this event.

As we all have been aware of, the Rectangular Strategy Phase II and the National Strategic Development Plan guide us towards good governance, seek for increased investment in rural sector, boost support to the private sector which is regarded as a major catalyst of growth and employment, especially the agriculture sector which represents about 72% of workforce. Furthermore, in the context of free market, the success of training cannot be decoupled from active participation from the private sector, especially in terms of employment opportunities after graduation.

Regarding the training, at the moment the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have three educational institutions under its supervision, namely the Royal University of Agriculture, Prek Leap National School of Agriculture, and the National School of Agriculture, Kampong Cham, which play a very key role in training and developing human resource at all levels in the agriculture sector which is a priority sector, and those 3 schools are acting to support and promote the sector to obtain remarkable achievement. Clearly, there are 2850 students of all levels who have successfully graduated and will be awarded with certificates in a short moment, among them, 1123 students are from Royal University of Agriculture and 1727 are from Prek Leap National School of Agriculture. Also, awardees from these two institutions are specialized in 11 subjects, and 4 of them including one woman have graduated and received doctoral degrees in Agricultural Science.

Besides, I have also noticed that the Royal University of Agriculture has sent a number of students to undertake study tour abroad, especially Israel which is a country with advanced development and rich experience in agriculture sector. These are the outcomes of the utmost efforts made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and officials, professors and the management of the Royal University of Agriculture and Prek Leap National School of Agriculture, particularly those students who had overcome all kinds of obstacles during their studies in order to reach another bank of validity and intellectual enrichment to become successors of the previous generation. This achievement also proves that the battle field of human resource development in all sectors, particularly the agriculture sector, is a very intense battle field that the Royal Government of Cambodia of this mandate, like previous ones always gives priority to.

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
All beloved awardees!

• The promotion of technology transfer is the key for creating new and interesting professions for our people. Technology transfer does not mean only the delivery of materials or equipments from abroad to Cambodia through purchasing, selling or donation, but also represents a mechanism which show that our workforce understand and are able to use technology in conformity to the technical standard. In this sense, we must possess other complementary factors such as producing goods, conducting joint research studies, having cooperation among universities by exchanging and training new students and building physical infrastructures. In addition, technology transfer is everything that helps us absorb the styles, techniques disseminated and new technology from another country. Starting from this problem, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, relevant institutions and agencies have to focus more on technology and techniques education for our youths and younger generation students by making them become quality producers and makers, because if the level of technology and techniques education remains low they would not be able to produce quality products.

Indeed, vision and policy measures for the national economic development especially for agriculture sector development, as mentioned above, can be achieved unless there is sufficient human resources and using all them in the right directions. Hence, the Royal of Government in previous mandates as well as in this mandate has always concerned about the development of human resources so that Cambodia has adequate capital knowledge as a means for achieving our great mission, reducing poverty of the people and ensuring competitive ability of Cambodia in the future, that means the development of human resources is a means as well as a goal.

Taking this opportunity, as capital for these two agriculture training institutions as well as a reminder for students receiving degrees today I would like to provide the following recommendations:

1. I have often mentioned before, but taking this opportunity I would like remind that at tertiary education level all education and training institutions are required to have high quality in terms of theory, teaching, research and real practices for all activities including management and evaluation on study, professors’ teaching and students. At the present, education sector has had positive impacts on Cambodia’s society that has strengthened and expanded the partnership with private sector in the country and abroad through intense competition among education and training institutions especially tertiary education institutes in order to improve quality and promote reputation of each institution.
2. Continue reforming and improving education system, promoting more in-depth education in technological techniques and improving research ability on confronting issues happening now at communities in order to help with social development tasks. Especially training tasks for each specialty need to suit the need of employment markets that are always changing in the globalized context and identify new jobs in order to make trainings going in the right directions for the long future.
3. Study and examine our ability to establish new specialty universities in order to train human resources suiting the needs of markets and improve agriculture sector especially to in part promote the implementation of the promotion of paddy rice production and rice exports policy measure of the Royal Government of Cambodia. In this sense, investment on youths that have potential at all levels in rural communities is the most important movement in speeding up rural social and economic development and poverty reduction especially the move of technical services to farmers.
4. Promote and strengthen national cooperation and especially international cooperation on the development of education programs, exchanging technological techniques, exchanging programs for professors and students, research and finding development partners. Training need to be appropriately tailored following the real situations in line with recommendations that I have often raised by connecting the study of theories with hand-on practices; synthesized data show that 80% of students aim to conduct research on plateaus so that they can help solve the confronting problems that farmers are facing and 20% of students are conducting research at the three tertiary education institutions and relevant units. These tasks need to be done in compliance with the area environment; each geographical area has been already analyzed as well as the potential for cultivation that the ministry of agriculture, forestry, and fishery has been gradually determining. Especially the increase of paddy rice production that clearly shows in the indicators of the promotion of paddy rice production and rice exports policy measure of the Royal Government. Seeing this potential, investment in youths at all level at rural places is the most important factor towards achieving success for country development and poverty reduction to the maximum.
5. Students graduating today need to work hard fulfilling your obligations by successfully implementing the knowledge you have absorbed in your vocations and being officials with good attitudes, good disciplines, diligence, and good morals. Parallel to this, do not forget continuing research study in order to get updated to the continuous evolving of technology of each sector; and I hope that all graduating students will continue studying hard in order to obtain higher degrees. Here, we have to two senior students, Som Kim Sour, minister of ministry of national assembly senate relations and inspection, andPrak Ham, secretary of state of ministry of land management, urban planning and construction who have sacrificed their valuable time to study their PhD and will graduate today. They are good role models for other students.

Dear all Participants!

We all have known that, educating people to be good citizens, highly professional with clear specialization in order to serve and accelerate the national development, is truly financially and mentally difficult until we come to the graduation today. In the future, you all will face a lot more difficulties in lives when you get exposed to school of practical life in order to build personal living condition, to fulfil professionalism and to contribute to building and developing the nation in the name as a citizen. I believe that the to be soon graduates in all levels, will become labourers of true knowledge in order to serve our national society rather than to allow the society to serve you; and you will prepare yourselves to be intellectuals with consideration and good morality in order to contribute to the national development as the other highly civilized countries and I do hope that this additional force will truly contribute to improving the agricultural sector as set in the policy of the Royal Government.

Once again, on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia and myself, I would like to express appreciation to the achievements made by the Royal University of Agriculture and the Prek Leap National School of Agriculture as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and the efforts made by all students; and the teaching by all lecturers of both schools; and their respective development partners for working very hard until achieving fruitful success with pride. These achievements cannot be separated from the noble assistance from our friend countries, and they are the key for human resource development as well as national development.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to express thanks to all development partners who have always spiritually, materially and financially supported the Royal University of Agriculture and Prek Leap National School of Agriculture, in order to strengthen and expand human resource development to be more successful with pride. Also, I strongly hope that there will be the continuation of such good cooperation with further new success in the future.

Finally, I would like to wish Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, National and International Distinguished Guests, Academic Staffs, Lecturers and all Students the four gems of Buddhist blessing: Longevity, Nobility, Health and Strength.