Producing a TV series
that teaches pesticide
use along with the drama
“CAVAC also helped me
with technical advice,
to make sure we were
including accurate
information that would
help our audience.”
(Soung Sina)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia: When Soung Sina
first approached the Australian Government’s
Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Program
(CAVAC) with her TV series idea she had
already been making documentaries for the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
while working at an Advertising Agency.
“While I was making the agricultural videos
I had the chance to talk to lots of farmers
and they told me they found them boring
and unhelpful. In their leisure time they
wanted entertainment or to spend time with
their families – not too watch instructional
videos. So, I saw a large potential audience
and an important programming gap. What
if I could make a TV series that included
information amongst the drama?” That
was the beginning of Wat Bomnas Thmey
(Newly Ploughed Land), a 26 episode TV
drama which Soung Sina wrote and directed.
“First I had had to buy the air time and
ensure sufficient advertisers were interested.
I approached a lot of agricultural companies,
but many of them preferred their direct
marketing approach, finding television
advertising too expensive. I had raised
most of the costs, 85 percent, and I was
www.cavackh.org
so grateful when CAVAC agreed to cover
the final 15 per cent.
Soung said, that many people tried to
discourage her, telling her that no one
would be interested in a drama set in the
countryside. They also said rural people have
no spending power so no one will invest in
this audience.
But after the pilot, Soung was able to attract
advertisers like fertiliser and pesticide
companies. She also enlisted a microfinance
company and even a soft drink company.
The drama features a love story between
a city-based female lead who studies
agriculture and a countryside farm boy.
The first espisode showed a farmer using
pesticide the wrong way because he didn’t
know any better. It damaged his rice crop
and caused lots of problems for the family.
“CAVAC also helped me with technical
advice,” Soung said, “to make sure we
were including accurate information
that would help our audience.”
The series reached an audience of over
200,000, and the TV station commissioned
a second series.
CAVAC is supported by the Australian Government and managed by