This will reduce imports of raw materials by agro-industries.

Agro-industries in the country still spend huge amounts of money to import raw materials like maize, cassava and sorghum for production. In order to produce both quality and sufficient quantity of such raw materials to reduce imports, the Cameroon government and the World Bank came up with the Agricultural Investment and Market Development Project, PIDMA. The project is to work closely with cooperatives to produce sufficient and quality cassava, maize and sorghum for agro-industries.

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

Only farmers registered with 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 five cooperatives to draw up business plans that qualify them for financial support. After drawing up convincing business plans, PIDMA provides 50 per cent of the project cost, banks 40 per cent and the cooperative chips in 10 per cent. After producing, cooperatives can decide to transform harvest to raw materials needed by agro-industries for processing.

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 executive for Littoral and South West Regions.