Rice Production - UNVDA Explores Potentials to Attain 75,000 Tons

Rehabilitation works, canals, dams, farmers problems preoccupy management.

Staring the Upper Nun Valley Development Authority (UNVDA) in the face is the challenge to turn the potential of 15,000 hectares of surface area covered into 75,000 metric tons of rice to meet growing national demand. In effect, the 35- year old agro- industry spent November 12 and 13, 2013 developing strategies to help them turn full circle towards meeting the nation's expectations in rice production. The way forward from the look of things is to move UNVDA from offices to rice farms for effective work.

It was against this backdrop that the 45th session of the UNVDA Board took members criss-crossing rice farms spread in the five sectors of Monoun, Bangolan, Babungo and Bamunka. It was to size up the potentials of the Ndop plain in the production of rice, government efforts to promote rice production, encouragement of farmers and problems that affect production. The Board Chairman, Tikela Kemonne and North West Governor, Adolph Lele Lafrique led the team that sized up 300 hectares of traditional farms to be developed in Babungo, 410 hectares of farms to be rehabilitated in the Monoun sector, re-leveling of rice fields and reconstruction of canals to reduce great loss of much needed water in the Wasi area, of Bui Division, 14 rice buying centres, each carrying a 300-ton capacity, reserve areas for rice production in the Bangolan sector, dams in lower Bamunka with canals that lead water to some 600 hectares of rice farms in lower Bamunka and another visit to the partner, Eco farms which showcases a drier and a mechanical approach to agriculture which helps matters with two cropping productions on some 40 hectares of rice. Curtains dropped on the field outing at the UNVDA water treatment station and the Upper Bamunka seed multiplication farm which cover some 12 hectares. From the look of things, it was a welcome field visit that later helped Board members chart a better way forward for the agro- industry with a budget of about FCFA 5.4 billion in 2014.

It is on record at the UNVDA that the agro industry has in recent times made enormous progress on the surface area cultivated with 1,534 hectares of developed land to show in 2013 against 1,499 in 2012 and 1,351 in 2011. The Director of production, Azomba Abena Simon says UNVDA operates with a rice farming population of 11,962 and the agro- industry is expected to produce 19,600 tons of paddy rice in 2013. The UNVDA contributes 10.8 per cent to the national production of rice. The challenge is to step up production by introducing two cropping, but not until the problem of transhumance is handled.