Journalists visit UNVDA rice farms

Pressmen in the North West emerged as development journalists on the occasion of the 2014 Press Freedom Day.

The universal theme of the 2014 World Press Freedom Day, “Media and development, safety of journalists and the rule of law,” inspired journalists practising in the North West region to go discovering the development initiatives of Ngoketungia Division with a lot to show in rice production.

In effect, the press men and women, members of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ), filed out at the UNVDA seed multiplication farm and ECO farms in the neighbourhoods of Ndop and Bambalang where they discovered 2nd generation rice cultivation.

It emerged from the farms that the Upper Nun Valley Development Authority, UNVDA, is a blessing in the government’s effort to reduce poverty, contribute towards food security and increase agricultural production and productivity.

The agroindustry is a strategic instrument to facilitate the processing and marketing of farmers produce and access to rural infrastructure for farmers in the Ndop plain which covers and extends to the rice production divisions of Ngoketungia, Bui, Noun and Bamboutos.

Yonghabi Jacob, the Marketing Manager told the visiting journalists that the difference between UNVDA produced Ndop rice and locally produced rice on the streets of Ndop is distinct because UNVDA rice is uniquely available in its natural bio form, no aroma, easy to cook and carries the name and logo on its packages. Obah Rose, the CAMASEJ team leader for April, 2014 led the journalists to the rice fields and they later retired from Ndop after a courtesy visit to their Patron, Hon Yoyo Emmanuel.