“Don’t be lazy, if you’re lazy, you won’t get it done. This work is when we have free time, we collect resources because we will use it next year or when the season comes.”
— Mrs. Hum Siem, agroecology practitioner and peasant leader in Pursat province
Mrs. Hum Siem’s journey from chemical-dependent farming to zero-budget natural farming offers powerful evidence that locally led, low-cost agroecological practices can protect natural resources, generate income, and strengthen community resilience while challenging the dominance of commercial fertilizer companies.
From Land Activist to Agroecology Practitioner
Mrs. Hum Siem, 48, lives in Kandal village, Tnaot Chum commune, Krakor district, Pursat province. In 2012, she became a land activist when a private company called Pheapimex Co. ltd. attempted to seize community land. After successfully resisting the land grab, she and her neighbors have continued protecting their land through agriculture. As of 2025, they are awaiting government measurement for official land titles.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the food system was disrupted, and chemical fertilizers became increasingly expensive. Like many farmers, Mrs. Siem initially struggled. However, in 2021, a peasant-to-peasant sharing event was held at her home. This experience sparked her interest in agroecology. By 2023, she began testing natural farming methods on her home garden and paddy field.
The High Cost of Chemical Farming
In the past, Mrs. Siem spent large sums of money on chemical fertilizers, hoping for high yields. However, heavy chemical use led to multiple problems: soil infertility, poor rice development, and empty grain husks. She used 7–8 sacks of chemical fertilizer per hectare, with each sack costing 150,000 riel. This created a cycle of debt and dependency.
After learning how to make natural fertilizers, Mrs. Siem experimented for two years. In total, she has now practiced agroecology for four years. Over the last two years of testing, she has achieved complete success and built full confidence in natural methods. She now produces her own fertilizers using locally available materials, including chicken fermented egg fertilizer, cow dung and cow urine, bio-gas dry and liquid composts
She applies these natural inputs to her paddy fields, vegetables, and fruit trees, including mango, cassava, chili, radish, cucumber, and pumpkin — all yielding good results. Practically, the financial impact is striking: using natural fertilizers saves her 900,000 to 1,000,000 riel per hectare compared to chemical alternatives.
Challenges and Community Perceptions
Despite her success, challenges remain. Climate change affects growing conditions, and when harvests are abundant, there is often no reliable market. However, Mrs. Siem notes that agroecology itself is not the main difficulty, because raw materials are available locally around their homes and community. Neighbors exchange resources such as cow urine and vinegar, which reduces costs significantly compared to buying from outsiders.
A greater challenge is the influence of chemical fertilizer companies, which aggressively promote their products. Many farmers follow each other’s example and believe that without chemical fertilizers, yields will be poor and profits impossible. Some also think that making natural fertilizer takes too much time. Mrs. Siem disagrees:
“Don’t be lazy, if you’re lazy, you won’t get it done. If you use natural fertilizer, you don’t need to ask for a year. They don’t believe in natural farming, they say they don’t have time to do it.” She added: “This work is when we have free time, we collect resources because we will use it next year or when the season comes.”
Sharing Knowledge and Building a Movement
Mrs. Siem has actively shared her experience through peasant-to-peasant exchanges. To date, she has reached approximately 30 farmers in her own community and beyond. She has also participated in about six seed festival events, where she demonstrates natural fertilizer production and seed saving.
She plans to continue expanding her work, focusing on cultivating and saving native rice and vegetable seeds, passing knowledge of natural fertilizer making to the next generation, advocating for broader recognition of agroecology as a viable, low-cost alternative to chemical farming
Her home garden and seed-saving efforts have become demonstration sites for other farmers seeking to reduce costs and improve food sovereignty.
A Model for Locally Led Agroecology
Mrs. Hum Siem’s story is not only about farming, it is about resilience, leadership, and justice. From defending her land against a company takeover to freeing herself from costly chemical inputs, she embodies the principles of locally led agroecology. Her success offers clear evidence that natural farming can protect forests, manage natural resources, build climate resilience, and sustain family incomes, all while strengthening community collaboration and challenging unjust economic systems.
Her work aligns with broader efforts to advance community-led research and livelihood models grounded in the food sovereignty framework. Stories like hers are a reminder that viable alternatives to industrial agriculture are not distant ideals, they are already being built, field by field, by farmers like Mrs. Siem across Southeast Asia and beyond.
As she says, the key is not wealth or technology. It is simply not being lazy, using free time wisely, and believing that another way is possible.
This blog was originally published by Focus on the Global South, a Participatory Action in Agroecology (IPA-Global) grantee partner.