Cameroon is out of the food insecurity zone - FAO

Cameroon is out of the country zone where food is insecure, according to the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Da Silva Grasiano.

The UN diplomat made the announcement to the press, on Saturday in Yaoundé, after a three-day official visit to the country.

He thus welcomed the Cameroonian government for reaching the target of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing by half the prevalence of undernourishment by 2015 and the more rigorous, set at the World Food Summit in 1996, which is to halve the absolute number of people suffering from hunger by the end of the year.

Grasiano José Da Silva also signed with the Cameroonian government, a cooperation agreement on a budget of $ 20 million, dedicated to the development of the agricultural sector in Cameroon and the establishment of a liaison office for his organization in the country.

The priority technical areas stopped covering the implementation of national strategies that can contribute to growth in the rural sector, promotion of farming jobs for youth and women, the development and implementation of policies and strategies strengthening the resilience of rural to disasters and crises.

The parties have agreed to keep each other informed of their policies and programs in the areas of food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development.

A 5-year partnership program adopted for this purpose also provides for support to South-South cooperation activities in other African countries as Cameroon has committed to fund.

As for the new Liaison Office established, subject to a 2-I agreement, it will ensure the overall coordination of the partnership program between FAO and Cameroon (CFPP) and will focus on national priority activities for the country program .

As a reminder, Cameroon is a member of the FAO since 1960, an institution that has opened an office in the country 18 years later.