Gov't raises FCFA 300 mln to fund agricultural initiatives

A project for the establishment of a microfinance institution by Cameroon’s Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock and Forestry (CAPEF) to finance the agricultural sector has already raised FCFA 300 million, APA can report Friday.

The fundraising operation to raise the starting capital which extends to December 10, 2016, concerns farmers’ associations, fishermen and farmers’ cooperatives, and SMEs active in the forestry and agro-industrial sectors.

The goal is to set up a structure tasked with assisting actors in the agro-forestry, pastoral and fisheries sectors to fund their activities.

In the wake of the closure of the National Rural Development Fund (FONADER) and the Agricultural Bank of Cameroon (CAC), actors have been experiencing difficulties in accessing funding agencies.

According to CAPEF, the microfinance institution that will be created will constitute a conduit on the ground towards the actualization of an agricultural bank with an initial capital of CFA 10 billion, as demanded by the Banking Commission of the Central Africa (COBAC).