Coffee is one of the cash crops that have sent many Cameroonians some of whom now occupy very important positions at the helm of power.

When production is said to have dropped like is the case with Robusta last season, it is but normal to ignite lots of worry in the minds of many. Figures from the national Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) indicate a significant drop of 21,985 metric tonnes. In effect, marketable production in 2013 dropped to 16,142 metric tons down from 38,127 metric tonnes a year earlier.

The drastic drop is the consequences of many causes some if not all of which remain a big challenge to the State and other stakeholders. Apart from the climate change which has tremendously affected growth, other human factors include the abandoning of farms in favour of subsistent agriculture to satisfy increasing thirst for hot money.  Farmers wouldn’t continue to wait for a crop that will take so long to yield whereas needs continue to mount. And as nature would have it, young people who are still energetic enough are leaving for the cities abandoning the crop to old people. Farms have gone old with yields that are not commensurate to labour from old people.

The unfortunate thing is that this is happening at the time the crop is gaining a lot of international prominence even though prices on the international market were slightly unfavourable last. The issue now is not crying over spill milk but readjusting to see how far the situation can be saved. The Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board has been quite worried and is putting up an emergency programme to reverse the situation. The programme which in principle should begin by next week has one main goal, to increase production and improve on the quality.

This surely requires some degree of investment and the development of a strategy to ensure its success. Authorities of the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board say the programme will takeoff in three Divisions: Mungo in the Littoral, Noun in the West and Upper Nyong in the East. That notwithstanding, government’s second-generation agriculture programme must fully integrate this sector on which many Cameroonians depend for livelihood. In this light, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has stated the intension of his ministry to support the renewing of abandoned farms and the creation of new ones. Already, a series of initial tests are on for some selected production zones. Determination and consistency are the two factors underlining the success of these programmes.