Contributing to consumer-protection discussions
Prak Sereyvath participated as a speaker in a Ministry of Commerce and GIZ consumer-protection workshop.
Read the field storyPSPA · Consumer rights and food safety
Consumer protection and food safety
CIRD helps consumers understand food safety and their rights, and brings people together to strengthen their collective voice. Its research, awareness activities and consumer networking helped establish the Cambodian Consumer Association on Food Safety (CAFS), connecting local concerns with national and regional dialogue.
- Period
- 2018–2026
- Assignment
- Work in 2026
- Locations
- Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, Kampong Cham, National and ASEAN exchanges
CIRD’s contribution
CIRD combines consumer research with public education and support for consumer organisation. Working with consumers, CCF, Lotus Radio and other partners, it helped people discuss food-safety concerns, understand consumer rights and organise a shared response. This mobilisation supported the establishment of the Cambodian Consumer Association on Food Safety (CAFS). The association’s founding assembly on 23 March 2024 brought together 72 members from different provinces to approve its statute and elect its governance and management structures.
Establishing a collective consumer voice
Practical work
- Listen to consumers through surveys, focus groups and interviews on food safety, consumer awareness and empowerment.
- Produce and share food-safety and consumer-rights information through video, Lotus Radio and social media, including how to identify and respond to unsafe food.
- Bring consumers together with public institutions and media partners to discuss consumer law, food sold in markets and collective consumer action.
- Support consumer networking, the preparation of CAFS’s statute and the organisation of its founding assembly.
- Connect consumers and producers through dialogue on ecological farming and food safety, alongside national and ASEAN exchanges on consumer protection.
Consumer and producer dialogue
Activities and outputs
- Consumer research: Cambodia survey work for the 2018 food-standards consumer study and the ASEAN Consumer Empowerment Index 2020.
- February 2019: a food-safety perception survey engaged 150 consumers across seven areas of Phnom Penh, alongside interviews with ten key informants.
- February 2020: CIRD, CCF and Lotus Radio jointly organised a workshop attended by around 150 consumers on consumer law, food safety and establishing a consumer association.
- Consumer mobilisation: around 100 consumers expressed interest in continued collaboration. Meetings in 2022–2023 led to a task force in 2023 to prepare CAFS’s statute and founding arrangements.
- 23 March 2024: CAFS held its founding assembly with 72 members from different Cambodian provinces, approving its statute and electing its governance and management structures.
- 2024: CAFS representatives joined three CCF and GIZ provincial dialogues and the fourth ASEAN Consumer Protection Conference in Phnom Penh. Prak Sereyvath moderated a discussion on inclusive consumer movements, and Nem Chanmoly introduced CAFS.
- 28 December 2024: consumer–producer dialogue in Battambang connected consumers with producers using ecological farming techniques.
- 2025: CAFS participation included Cambodian consumer-protection events and regional workshops in Bangkok in August and Kuala Lumpur in November.
- March 2026: CIRD’s Director, Prak Sereyvath, spoke at a consumer-protection workshop organised by the Ministry of Commerce and GIZ.
Partners and their roles
Consumers International
Consumer-research partner
GIZ, Germany’s international cooperation organisation
Research and public-dialogue partner
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Consumer-empowerment research framework
Ministry of Commerce
Public institution partner
Cambodian Consumer Association on Food Safety (CAFS)
Consumer organisation and national and regional dialogue
CCF
Co-organiser of consumer workshops and public dialogue
Lotus Radio
Consumer-awareness broadcasts and workshop co-organiser
From this work
Related resources
CIRD’s consumer protection work and the establishment of CAFS
Summary on CIRD’s work on Consumer Protection and establishment of Cambodian Consumer Association on Food Safety (CAFS)
A December 2025 presentation on CIRD’s consumer research, food-safety awareness and consumer networking, including its contribution to establishing CAFS. Covers the March 2024 founding assembly and consumer-protection activities in Cambodia and across ASEAN through 2025.
View citation
Prak Sereyvath. (2025). Summary on CIRD’s work on Consumer Protection and establishment of Cambodian Consumer Association on Food Safety (CAFS). Cambodian Institute for Research and Rural Development (CIRD).
Consumer awareness of food standards in Southeast Asia
Consumer Survey on Food Standards in ASEAN
A comparative survey of consumer awareness and perceptions of food standards in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Consumers International prepared the report, with CIRD coordinating as the Cambodia country partner.
View citation
Consumers International. (2018). Consumer Survey on Food Standards in ASEAN. Consumers International / GIZ / ASEAN.
Consumer empowerment in Cambodia
ASEAN Consumer Empowerment Index in Cambodia
Presents Cambodia findings from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Consumer Empowerment Index. Prepared for the stakeholder dialogue “Towards Collective Consumer Action in Cambodia” on 27 November 2020.
View citation
Prak Sereyvath. (2020). ASEAN Consumer Empowerment Index in Cambodia. Cambodian Institute for Research and Rural Development (CIRD).
Developing a Cambodian consumer association
Update on the work of the first national consumer association and how to set up consumer associations including formal requirements
An update presented at the National Consumer Conference on 4 April 2023, covering consumer association development and the formal steps discussed for establishing an association. Provides a dated view of the work and proposed next steps.
View citation
Prak Sereyvath. (2023). Update on the work of the first national consumer association and how to set up consumer associations including formal requirements. Cambodian Institute for Research and Rural Development (CIRD).
Consumer networking for food safety
Consumer Networking Around Food Safety Issues and Further Steps Toward Establishment of a Cambodian Consumer Association
A National Consumer Protection Conference presentation on food safety awareness, consumer networking and proposed steps towards establishing a Cambodian consumer association. The institutional plans described are those presented in 2021.
View citation
Prak Sereyvath. (2021). Consumer Networking Around Food Safety Issues and Further Steps Toward Establishment of a Cambodian Consumer Association. CIRD / National Consumer Protection Conference.
Connected programmes
Work with CIRD
Discuss a research question, training need or rural development partnership.