World food Day: Cameroon suspends celebration

The celebration of the 35th edition of the World Food Day has been rescheduled for a later date after the national mourning day in remembrance of the 76 compatriots who left for Pilgrimage to Mecca and never returned.

In preparation towards celebrations, Cameroon’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Henri Eyebe Ayissi organized a press briefing at his cabinet.

A number of Ministers and representatives of International Organizations were present to get updated information on government’s policy to ensure food sufficiency.

The current edition to be celebrated on a later date will be organized under the theme “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Silence of poverty.”

Discussing social protection, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, laid emphasis on government’s resolve to pay all benefits due retired workers whether dead or alive and the invalids.

He added that a First Aid committee will monitor the populations’ health on HIV-AIDS and Malaria.

On agriculture, the Minister mentioned a number of measures put in place to increase productivity; this includes the construction of farm to market roads.

He, however, argued that World Food Day is also about education and creating employment for jobless Cameroonians especially in rural areas taking into consideration the aspect of social protection as highlighted in this year's theme.

Apart from the funding from the aforementioned, measures are expected to be raised from the forthcoming tele-food gala night scheduled for December 2015 in Yaounde.

Statistics from the food and agricultural Organization FAO stated that close to 795 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition with 2.3 million in Cameroon.

The 35th celebration coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Food and Agricultural Organization.