The production will reduce the importation of raw material by agro-industries.

Agro-industries in the country still spend huge amount of money to import raw material like maize, cassava and sorghum for production. In order to produce both quality and sufficient quantity of such raw material to reduce importation, the Cameroon government and the World Bank came up with a programme an Agricultural Investment and Market Development Project known in its French acronym as Pidma to work closely with cooperative in order to produce sufficient and good quality cassava, maize and sorghum for agro-industries.

The Programme initiated in 2013 has gone operational in Littoral with the objective to transform agriculture from subsistence and low-yielding agriculture for maize and cassava sub sectors to a market-oriented agriculture with competitive value chains. The programme will provide both financial and technical support to production, processing and marketing of agricultural products, support to seed production and carry out project coordination and management in cooperatives.

Only farmers registered under cooperatives will benefit from the five-year programme that will assist some 300 cooperatives with the sum of FCFA 50 billion. According to Pidma’s Regional Coordinator, Yem Samuel, the programme is already helping some 5 cooperatives to set up their business plan that qualify them for financial support. Practically, after drawing up a convincing business plan, the government through Pidma give 50 per cent of the project cost, the bank (partner) loans 40 per cent and the cooperative chips in 10 per cent. After the production phase, cooperative can decide to transform harvest to raw materials needed by agro-industries for production.

Earlier, the Regional Delegate of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bell Nyem Jean-Marie disclosed that cassava and maize production per hectare is very low. “With this programme, cassava production will increase from between 10 and 15 tonnes per hectare to 20 and 40 tonnes, while maize will rise from two tonnes to between four and eight tonnes per hectare,” he revealed. The forum that brought together stakeholders including financial institutions and agro-industries saw the installation of the Regional Bureau for Littoral and South West Regions.