Rice grown in the South-West Region

The yield of the new species of upland rice from IRAD in demonstration farms has impressed some farmers in Fako Division.

After summoning courage to try planting rice, the farmers are very happy with the yields to the point that they have vowed to continue in a larger scale.

Going by the trial planting some of the farmers believe that NERICA rice could be the solution to imported rice species that are widely consumed locally in Cameroon.

Speaking to TFV, Foncham Francis, Fako President of the national producers’ organization, PLANOPAC, said he was just trying to see if rice could do well. According to the farmer, they got the seeds of NERICA rice from IRAD to try under an IITA/IRAD program in Man O’War Bay in Bimbia, Limbe and the trial has proven very fruitful.

Foncham Francis said few farmers believed that planting rice in the area could produce anything fruitful but after they planted in June in their trial pilot centre the rice has done so well that they now know that it could be a good source of income to farmers given the high consumption of rice in the country.

After training farmers in all the divisions, he told TFV, more pilot centres will be started in Batoke, Mutengene and other places in Fako division to get as many farmers as possible into even intercropping rice with other crops.

According to the farmer, the pilot farm in Man O’War Bay excited many farmers during and inspection visit.

“The biggest problem to the rice are birds who are very excited and eating up the rice; we were advised to use nets to prevent the birds which we did, the only challenge will be when one would have an extensive farm”, Foncham told TFV recently.

To the President of the Limbe Poultry Farmers Association, Wandji Felix who planted just a handful in five ridges in his farm, NERICA rice can do very well in Fako.

“I planted just a handful and from the harvest I know that the rice can do very well and even help us reduce the level we are importing rice today”, Wandji told TFV in Limbe.

NERICA species are upland rice species developed to boost rice production in Africa where most of the countries depend on imported rice from other continents to feed their populations despite abundant natural resources.

For the past five years Cameroon spends billions each on the importation of rice, fish and other basic commodities though with lots of potentials to produce and export.