“We must produce more rice to reduce importation”

Kofi Patrick Woede, Agricultural Consultant/CEO Foundation for the Improvement of Lives through Agricultural Development spoke to this paper about rice cultivation in the country.

Can rice be grown in the South West? I gave the piece of land for the trial in Man O’War Bay. I doubted if rice could be grown in the South West. I doubted if it was possible but I thought of the Nigerian experience where some farmers were cropping rice with cocoyam. With this in mind, I told him (Foncham Francis) let’s try. We planted it and it is doing well but we had to use insecticides to prevent pests yet birds are after it all the time.

So birds are the main pests for the pilot rice farm in Man O’War Bay? We say birds because they are attacking the rice frequently and we can observe. The birds are seemingly happy and are always visiting the farm. We are using nets to prevent them from causing more damage.

Which variety was planted? We will like to try various varieties and chose the different characteristics, know how each of them is doing so as to make a choice of which NERICA rice to plant.

Can rice production have a future in the South West? Yes, from what I have seen in the demonstration plot in Man O’War Bay, rice can be cultivated at an economic level. We will like to put it with other varieties and even try intercropping with other crops. Further research and tests need to be done but there is hope.

What do you think can be done to produce more rice in Cameroon? We have to meet other groups of farmers, make them know that rice cultivation is possible anywhere in the country especially with the NERICA species and encourage farmers to intercrop like what I saw in Nigeria. Rice will do well in many places in Cameroon.

When will you plant the next demonstration plots? Next September we are targeting 6 groups in Batoke, Mahop, Mile 4 and Bimbia. We are supposed to start planting from August to October. Rice is a three month (90-100 day) crop and you harvest. So if you can work much you will always have it.

Can rice really be rewarding economically here? Yes! But the farmers will need a rice hauling machine when there is significant production and a lot of fertilizers to get economic yields. We have to increase production and reduce our annual importation of rice. We must produce more rice to reduce dependence on importation.