ASA-WISHH CAST strategic partner Keo Yada, left, owns Rathada Fish Hatchery in Cambodia, where fish is the primary source of protein in diets. Yada's tilapia and catfish feast on floating feed made with U.S. soy.

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8 and March as National Nutrition Month, WISHH and the Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) – Cambodia Project released a video to salute CAST strategic partner Keo Yada, who is an inspiration for women in aquaculture.

As an owner of Rathada Fish Hatchery, Yada cultivates a bold vision. She believes Cambodian women and men will take a larger role in aquaculture, resulting in new opportunities for their livelihoods. Fish are the primary source of protein in Cambodian diets, so the hatchery is important for nutrition as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOvRECmJbrc

Watch aerial views of her ponds where tilapia and catfish feast on floating feed made with U.S. soy. See delicious fish dishes cooking in Keo’s restaurant that hosts local farmers and others who come to learn and catch her enthusiasm for aquaculture at Rathada Hatchery. Find out why Keo just joined a new aquaculture association supported by CAST, WISHH’s U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded Food for Progress Project. CAST is using the video to launch its Facebook page, which is a popular way to engage with stakeholders for the project.

U.S. soybean growers experienced Keo’s energy and enthusiasm for aquaculture in January when WISHH brought a trade team of 13 U.S. soybean leaders to Rathada. Together, they celebrated a milestone with Keo and her family by holding a ribbon cutting for Cambodia’s first in-pond raceway aquaculture system, an important innovation for the sustainable increase of fish production in the region.

Missouri soybean farmer checkoff funds supported WISHH technical assistance in the planning and construction of Cambodia’s first in-pond raceway aquaculture system, which is a channel for continuous flow of water to grow fish at the hatchery.