Three members of government last Friday answered questions from parliamentarians during a Question Time plenary sitting of the National Assembly.

Cameroon’s Members of Parliament last November 26 expressed worries about food production in the country with focus on rice, cassava and the fact that projects meant for Young Farmers have not yet taken off. This was during a Question Time plenary sitting of the National Assembly presided at by the First Vice President, Hon. Hilarion Etong.

Three parliamentarians went to the rostrum to know from the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Clementine Ananga Messina measures the government was taking to revamp rice production especially in the SEMRY company in Yagoua in the Far North Region. Hon.Manamourou Isabelle epse Silikam  said rice farmers hire 12,000 hectares of land a year costing  FCFA 1.320 billion  from SEMRY  but yields continue to drop as the farming calendar  is not respected, problems of irrigation  and high farm inputs. She sought to know when the irrigation system will be properly functional, when the 2600 rice farmers affected by the Magha flood will be compensated . The Minister said government has given a subvention of FCFA 3 billion to SEMRY to upgrade rice production.  She said meetings were held between administrative, traditional authorities and farmers and solutions were identified and what remains now is their implementation.

Minister Delegate Ananga Messina also answered questions from Hon. Gadama Paul who presented the plight of the 370,000 farmers in the northern regions who face problems of climate hazards, demographic pressure and high cost of farm inputs. He also said the situation of cotton farmers needed urgent attention, called for the modernisation of agriculture and subvention of cotton production. The Minister presented government multi-sector strategies to boost agriculture and stated that the European Union will finance the project to diversify agricultural production in cotton growing areas.  Government, the minister further said, has taken measures to boost the production of strategic crops like rice, cassava and maize. In relation to modernising agriculture, she said government signed an agreement with India for the assembling of 1000 tractors in the South Regional capital, Ebolowa.

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Madeleine Tchuinte announced measures taken to fight diseases that affect cassava.  She also disclosed that the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) was doing its best to put high yielding seedlings at the disposal of farmers.

Michael Ngako Tomdio on his part, assured the members of parliament that the Memve’ele dam construction project will begin as announced, stating that the project was on course.