Food Security: overcoming stumbling blocks

Little or no farm equipments, use of local implements, poor farm-to-market roads, limited access to subsidies and fertilisers and pesticides, environmental challenges, pose a great challenge to food productivity and the country’s drive to modern agriculture.

These challenges were enumerated by farmers and actors in the processing sector during the Mini Agro-pastoral Show in Douala December 16-17 that attracted farmers from all over the Littoral Region.

As a part of measures to overcome the hurdles, wheelbarrows, pesticides, watering cans and sacks of fertilisers, machetes, rain boats, including other equipments were handed to some Common Initiative Groups and to individual farmers as prizes for best production at the end of the show in Bepanda. Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development call the attention of beneficiaries to the fact that government is with them and doing everything possible to enhance their production capacity.

The agricultural sector, according to speeches made during the event, is a veritable backbone for economic growth. Therefore involving and engaging youths can reduce unemployment, crime, delinquency and extremism, while creating opportunities for young people to enhance food security and generate income.

On exhibition at the show ground was succulent yams, heavy bunches of plantains, varieties of corn, huge cassava, modern farm machineries, tons of groundnuts and cassava, white pepper from Penja, table birds and meat all at give-away prices that attracted the admiration and purchase by visitors.

To most visitors, the Mini Agro-pastoral Show offered the opportunity to make purchases that may last about two or three weeks and serve significantly during end-of-year feasts.

The importance of the event, to some, is that it has helped served additional plantation on the table while also defraying costs with purchases made especially during this season whereby food prices are higher.