A Cambodian Farmer Takes the Global Stage

When Set Hach joined a women’s self-help group in Cambodia in 2013, she struggled to follow lessons on financial management and leadership. Today, she chairs an agricultural cooperative of 540 members across 30 villages in Siem Reap province, where she shares her knowledge and connects fellow farmers with markets for their products.

On Oct. 15, 2026, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) named Set one of its inaugural 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems for Rural Development. She accepted the honor from FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu at the World Food Forum in Rome.

Her recognition reflects more than a decade of work on her own farm and alongside other farmers in her community.

To Lead Is to Lift Others

A mother of three, Set spent years caring for her children and working with her family to earn an income from rice cultivation and livestock. With limited formal education, she had few opportunities to take on leadership roles in her community.

In 2013, she joined a women’s self-help group supported by Heifer Cambodia and its partners. She began saving money, participating in community activities and learning skills she would later share with other women.

She became a self-help group leader and volunteered to teach women in neighboring villages to read and write Khmer, Cambodia’s official language.

Her fellow group members encouraged her to run for deputy chair of the Strey Phokphal Meanchey Agricultural Cooperative. In 2017, she became its chair.

She also serves as vice chair of the Siem Reap Meanchey Farmer Union, extending her leadership beyond the cooperative.

Under Set’s leadership, the cooperative grew from 82 members in 2016 to 540 members across 30 villages by the end of 2025. Of those members, 451 are women.

The cooperative’s capital also increased from approximately $2,275 to more than $130,000. Members have saved more than $54,000 collectively through 23 self-help groups.

But for Set, the cooperative’s success is about more than its growth.

“I want to see both the cooperative and our farmers progress,” she said. “I do not want the cooperative to move forward while the farmers fall behind.”

A Livelihood Takes Wing

Before receiving agricultural training, she raised chickens using traditional methods that left her flock vulnerable to disease and predators.

“The chickens got sick, or died,” she said. “Sometimes the dog ate the chicken.”

At the time, she sold only about 5 to 10 kilograms of chicken every two months and earned approximately $50 per sale.

In 2018, Set took a $1,500 loan from a Heifer-supported organization to buy a new chicken coop and 200 chicks. She also applied training in vaccination, proper housing and disease prevention to better protect her flock.

She later acquired an incubator that can hatch more than 1,000 eggs at a time, allowing her to expand her poultry business.

As Set gained confidence and experience caring for her flock, she began sharing her knowledge with fellow farmers, teaching techniques for raising chickens, growing vegetables and making compost.

Set also connected farmers with buyers at local markets and restaurants. The cooperative established a two-hectare vegetable farm with 10 greenhouses to supply local buyers.

Set’s recognition comes during the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer, which highlights women’s contributions to agriculture and the barriers they continue to face.

Although her achievements have now received global attention, Set’s priorities remain rooted in her community as she works to nurture a cooperative whose success grows alongside that of its farmers.

“I want to see both the cooperative and our farmers progress. I do not want the cooperative to move forward while the farmers fall behind.” — Set Hach

Set’s story is one of many that illustrate the leadership, knowledge and determination of women farmers around the world. Discover more through Heifer International’s She Has a Story to Tell campaign.