It’s President, Kanayo F. Nwanze, on thursday held talks with agro-pastoral stakeholders here.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is discussing with stakeholders in the country on ways of developing new strategies for investment in agriculture and rural development in Cameroon from 2013 to 2015. This is the focus of a four-day (February 29–March 3) working visit of IFAD President, Kanayo F. Nwanze, in Cameroon. In a joint working session yesterday March 1 with the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Essimi Menye, and that of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Dr. Taiga, Mr Nwanze was briefed on the country’s agro-pastoral policy, its stakes and challenges and where development partners like IFAD can come in to realise the agriculture revolution dream of government.
Mr Essimi Menye talked on challenges of second-generation agriculture, post-harvest difficulties like storage and processing as well as the vision to move from peasant agriculture, for subsistence, to creating agricultural entrepreneurs capable of sustaining production from start to finish. On his part, Dr. Taiga said getting assistance on fisheries production would greatly help in bridging the wide gap between demand and supply. Demand is about 300,000 metric tonnes while national annual production is estimated at 181,000 metric tonnes.
IFAD’s President said his visit was to intensify the institution’s partnership with Cameroon so as to make agriculture a veritable purveyor of the desired socio-economic development here. Talking to the press after his arrival at the Nsimalen international airport, Mr Nwanze said his visit, the first of its kind since taking up the IFAD’s top job, was multidimensional. “First of all, it is to affirm IFAD’s commitment in supporting the government and the people of Cameroon as you proceed towards the implementation of the plan to 2035 and where agriculture receives priority in the development of the country,” he said. Cameroon, he added, is a richly endowed country with range of agricultural ecologies and it is a country in Central Africa that offers tremendous opportunity not only to feed Cameroonians but also the whole sub-region in terms of food and export crops. “I see this visit as a unique opportunity also to initiate discussions with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and his colleagues on developing a new strategy of investment for IFAD in agriculture and rural development in Cameroon for 2013-2015.”
The IFAD’s President was also received in separate audiences by the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Islamic World, Adoum Gargoum and the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi. He is scheduled to visit some IFAD-funded projects as well as hold working sessions with other partners in Cameroon before flying off tomorrow Saturday. IFAD is a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries.
Cameroon needs more IFAD support to boost its agriculture.
