The success of rural development depends not only on available infrastructure in rural regions, market access, mobility, availability of finances and collaterals, but also on people's skills. However, young people commonly not only lack opportunities to learn skills but also have no vision of what they could successfully achieve. In Cambodia this dilemma is aggravated by the fact that the Khmer Rouge Regime (1975-1979) eradicated business-minded approaches and even money. This poses a formidable challenge to society, as well as to international development aid. This article briefly examines a programme created by a local NGO to build agri-business and entrepreneurial capacity in young rural people in Cambodia.

Lars Düerkop
Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst - DED
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
kor.le@ded.org.kh

Dr. Adrian Bolliger
Royal University for Agriculture
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Winfried Scheewe
Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, CEDAC
Phnom Penh, Cambodia