10.2bn assigned for animal husbandry development

Government signed a loan agreement with two Spanish banks to construct modern slaughter and refrigerated warehouses yesterday.

The government of Cameroon through the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi has secured a loan with two Spanish Banks- the Deutsche Bank and the Caïxa Bank for the construction of slaughter and refrigerated warehouses.

Signatures were appended on the documents yesterday April 23, 2015 in Yaounde, sealing a deal that began in 2013 by Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi for government and Jose Luis Pastor and Antonio Navarro for Deutsche and Caïxa Banks respectively.

The Spanish Ambassador to Cameroon, Marcelino Cabanas Ansorena and Cameroon’s Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry, Dr Taïga witnessed the ceremony.

The two Spanish banks are loaning Cameroon FCFA 8.5 billion to add to FCFA 1.7 billion Public Investment Budget of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry under the framework of its three-year Contingency Plan with focus on modernising and securing meat storage facilities.

The sum total, FCFA 10.2 billion will be used for the project. An industrial slaughter house with a butcher capacity of 250 cows will be constructed and equipped in Ngaoundere, Adamawa Region.

The same region, North and the Far North Regions will each benefit from the construction of and equipping of a refrigerated warehouse to facilitate meat distribution to neighbouring Nigeria. Other refrigerated warehouses have been earmarked for the Centre, the resort town of Kribi and Ebolowa in the South Region with neighbouring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon as potential markets. The Adamawa slaughter house and the meat storage facility will among other things receive refrigerated transportation vans.

Jose Luis Pastor reaffirmed his country’s determination to continue to support Cameroon in its development drive. The Minister of the Economy rejoiced over development ties binding Cameroon and the Kingdom of Spain.

The conservation and processing of meat products, Dr Taïga affirmed, was one of government’s priority projects. “We are laying the foundation for industrialization,” he said. Dr Taïga challenged private entrepreneurs to embrace and invest in the sector.