Why I'm Excited About Lettuce

This afternoon I went to Lucky supermarket to buy some roast chicken and other ingredients for salad. You know what really got me excited? Organic lettuce from Siem Reap, Cambodia, fresh sealed in a clean transparent plastic pouch. I was amazed! I prepared dinner and afterwards put the kettle on to make a pot of local brew coffee. Now it is 2am. It isn’t just the coffee keeping me awake. I just can’t stop thinking about the lettuce.

Let me start with two broad trends we see in Cambodia today. Number one, the economy is growing at a rate of 8-9% per year. Also, for the past two years Cambodia has had good harvest seasons. While there has been localised drought and flooding, most farmers have been able to feed their families. Overall economic growth and increasing food security is good. My question is - what next? What can a population of 14 million do in order to move beyond survival?

It is easy for the cynical foreigner living in the capital to say that the only changes likely are that the elite will continue to line their pockets at the expense of the poor. I see the conspicuous consumption of the rich in new opulent homes, luxury cars and immaculate clothes. I also hear and read the stories of the marginalised- teenagers taking drugs because it helps them forget about being hungry, youth becoming disillusioned when their education doesn’t lead to employment and parents losing their children because they can’t afford medical care.

Yet there are still positives. Cambodia is free from war and civil conflict, with no armed conflicts spilling over from bordering nations. The nation has a functioning government and is encouraging increasing opportunities for foreign investment. It has a sea port, a spread of natural resources and an emerging labour market. From this fertile ground there is potential for growth beyond survival. Tonight I saw it in Lucky supermarket.

I saw locally produced organic lettuce as well as other high quality food products such as ginger & lime jam, dried mango, tomato salsa, cashew nuts and guava juice. These goods are competitively priced and they taste great. Top marks. As I take a step back, I imagine all the resources involved in bringing the lettuce to me- the land, equipment, labour, packing materials, transport, infrastructure and so on. The chain seems fragile. A break in any one point damages the whole. However, the supply chain it is working for the rocket leaves.

There must be other opportunities waiting to be grasped by small and medium sized enterprises to cater to the tourist industry, the growing middle class in Cambodia and potential overseas markets. How can these business opportunities make a positive impact on individuals, families and communities as well as bumping up national GNP stats? I’ll leave these dreams to others with the appropriate skills and passion. Meantime, I’ll keep eating salads....rejoicing over locally produced, organic lettuce!