Fertiliser Project Explained to NW Farmers

Encouraging trends in coffee/cocoa prices in the world market and the increasing demand for the crops now militate in favour of revamping the sub-sectors to improve the living conditions of farmers. That was the take home message during information and sensitisation meetings that recently took officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) to North West farmers.

It was all about introducing the new Support Project for the use of Fertilizers in Cocoa and Coffee Sub-sectors (SPUF2C) summed up as one of government's actions in favour of revamping the sub-sectors. The SPUF2C delegation leader, Defo Gnilachu Robert, said the project will support the acquisition of fertilizers by cocoa and coffee farmers and build their capacities on the techniques of its production and use.

The project, he said, was conceived to cover seven coco and coffee production regions (North West, Centre, South, East, West, Littoral and South West) and beneficiaries including producer organisations like common initiative groups, federations, confederations and cooperatives. The project seeks to help producers master the use of fertilisers, increase yields in cocoa/coffee and generate enough income to continue the actions of the project. Project execution will evolve around cocoa, Arabica and robusta coffee. The three-year project is also built on the principles of accountability of beneficiaries. It also emerged from the respective information sessions that Bui and Mezam farmers will benefit the first stock of fertilizer supplies next October, 2012.

It was also a rare moment for Djoukeng Victor, an Agro-Economist to update farmers on the importance, challenges and perspectives of coffee and cocoa. It emerged from his presentation that most of the nation's cocoa and coffee farms are more than 40 years old and need to be regenerated. Cameroon occupies the 20th place in the world's chart of cocoa producers with only 55.000 metric tonnes in 2010 after Brazil in the first position with 2,356,000 metric tonnes tonnes. The nation is 6th in cocoa production with 207.000 metric tonnes in 2011 after Cote d'Ivoire which ranks first with 1,400,000 tonnes.

Djoukeng Victor also revealed that the 1990 crisis did not help matters when Robusta coffee production dropped from 100.000 metric tonnes to 43,000 and 12.000 metric tonnes for Arabica coffee in 2010. The government's measures to revamp the sub sectors target 200,000 metric tonnes for cocoa, 150,000 metric tonnes for Robusta and FCFA 100,000 metric tonnes for Arabica between 2010 and 2015.