Currently Cambodia has one of the lowest per capita levels of vegetable consumption in Asia. Local produce is heavily supplemented by imports. The Cambodian government has a long-term plan to replace much of those imports with local production, and also significantly increase the consumption of vegetables. Both ACIAR and AusAID have programs in place to support initiatives in applied research and development to underpin agricultural diversification - especially through the AusAID-funded Cambodian Agricultural Value Chain Project (CAVAC).
An ACIAR project titled, "Improvement of Vegetable Production and Postharvest Management Systems" focused on developing capacity among postharvest, pathology and production researchers in developing targeted research to address vegetable industry needs. The small research activity (SRA) provided assistance in the development of the outcomes of the project. The SRA covered the first 12 months activities of HORT/2006/107, and involved field trials, supply chain studies, irrigation training and development of farmer extension publications. The larger project started in June 2010.