Korea Solicits Bids to Develop Paddy Complex for Rice Production in Cameroon

The Mechanised Complex Development for Rice Cultivation of the Centre Region of Cameroon, a rice project piloted by South Korea, is taking shape. The project management consultancy, Hankyong National University Academic Industry Cooperation Foundation,

is soliciting national and international bids to develop the rice paddy complex in Avangan, an integral part of the project. The project to cover 20 hectares of land is expected to span through the date of the award of the contract and July 10, 2013. According to the call for tenders, the wining bidder will be known on October 8, 2012. The project to cost 700,000 US dollars (about FCFA 365.3 million) will consist in developing the rice paddy complex including a pumping station, farm roads and canals for irrigation and drainage. The tender specifies that all bids must be accompanied by a bid security of not less than 5 per cent of the total bid price or stated fixed amount and must be delivered on or before September 20, 2012 at 3 pm.

The Avangan project (between Nkoteng and Nanga-Eboko in the Centre Region) received a boost last January 26 when the government of Korea donated 14 different mechanisation machines to the country's agriculture stakeholders. These comprised two Branson tractors, two Seed Germinators, two Seed Beds (Nara), Riding Rice Transplanter, Combined Harvester, Paddle Harrow, Bed Soil Machine, Power Sprayer and Fertilizer Applicator, among others.

The project which aims at alleviating poverty in rural areas, stakeholders say, is an example of South Korea's willingness to contribute to agricultural revolution in Cameroon. This will be through increased rice productivity by developing mechanised rice farming and supporting the new second-generation agricultural policy that is in line with Cameroon's 2035 growth vision.

Experts say the project could be a welcome relief to the country's cereal sector that currently suffers from a non-negligible deficit in supply. Government over the years has resorted to importation to bridge the growing demand/supply gap. Only last year, it imported about 440,000 metric tonnes of rice to bridge the shortfall. It drained the State of billions of FCFA which could have otherwise been tailored into other productive sectors of the economy.

Cameroon's labour force and fertile soils, Korea's Ambassador to Cameroon, Cho June-Hyuck, said in January, are capable of boosting production to get the country out of persistent rice importation. "I hope that this cooperation will lead to a future where Cameroon will make use of these potentials and produce rice not only for local consumption, but also for export," he said.