CMR diversifies cereal cultivation to combat hunger in the North

The Cameroonian authorities opt for diversification of food production through the expansion and modernization of the rice of Yagoua Corporation (SEMRY) to combat a possible famine in the region of the far north of the country.

This option is the direct consequence of incursions from the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram that has led to the abandonment of fields by people in this part of the country.

In this perspective, in addition to rice, which remain the principal product, with an average of 100,000 tonnes of annual production, the SEMRY will also launch this year the cultivation of millet and sorghum.

The Governing Council endorsed the increase of the budget of the company at 12.5 billion CFA francs in 2015, or nearly half of the budget operation and investment for the past year.

"This amount will allow Semry to resize things by increasing not only production, but also by diversifying it to catch the food gap," according to the president of the Board of Directors of the company, Midjiyawa Bakari.

The 2014 Crop year is completed in the region of the far north with a grain (millet, maize, sorghum, rice) deficit estimated at 132,000 tonnes, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture because of the Boko Haram threat and poor rainfall.