Farmers and peasant organizations in the North West Region sang and danced on September 15,2010 in praise for the Agricultural competitiveness project (PACA) as a veritable poverty alleviation outfit. The event was the signing of Conventions for Co- financing for the execution of four projects to ameliorate the production and marketing of pigs and birds in the Region. In effect,, PACA was cheered as a blessing in barely four months since the project was launched in the Region on April 14th and 15th, 2010. It was indeed, a day for the farmer organizations that took home the huge amount of non refundable subventions or grants made available by the government of Cameroon and the World bank to improve the lot of the rural masses.
The event at the Bamenda Cooperative college was presided by the National Coordinator of PACA, Albert Toussi who stressed the fact that embezzlement will not be condoned in the project. He saluted encouraging work sofar demonstrated in the North West Regional Unit of PACA with a balance sheet that speaks. It was against this backdrop that concerned farmer organizations emerged as the first beneficiaries of the PACA grants since the inception of the project in Cameroon .
Screening of applicant groups ended with the Akwateh Mixed farming group of Bamunka- Ngoketungia division winning cfa 22.746.900 to ameliorate the production and marketing of pigs by moving their current reference from 86 to 247 piglets. Kemgab’s Livestock and Poultry production group of Mbveh, Bui division got away with cfa 24.442.470 to move from 217 to 417 piglets while the Mixed farming Solidarity team of Fundong, Boyo division got cfa 26.964.275 to get their lot from 150 to 223 piglets. Nkungsi Mixed farming group of Nkwen, Mezam is expected to produce 7.000 birds, up from their current 2.000 with PACA grants of cfa 13.159.575.
Sounding off with good work to show at PACA, the Regional Coordinator, Dr Victor Ayangwe stressed the need for partner farmer organizations to demonstrate commitment and seriousness by depositing their required 30 percent share of financing in credible financial institutions to ease the disbursement of the grants. Around to cheer the event, the Regional Delegates of Agriculture and Rural Development and Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Godfrey Nutoto and Dr Agharih Walters urged beneficiaries to unite around the projects and lift standards of living among the rural poor. They encouraged the farmer groups to rise to expectation and become role models in the amelioration of Agricultural competitiveness so that the World bank can become the Permanent companion of farmer organizations in the North West Region. It emerged from the event that the pioneer beneficiary four groups qualified from an overall 20 applications retained for phase one of the project. Curtains dropped on the event with the Representative of farmers, Ateh Grace Ntumazah advising colleagues to invest the grants wisely.
