Cameroon imports more than 100 000 tonnes of palm oil

Ndjock Lumbe, Ngwei district of the Sanaga-Maritime, 'breathes' palm oil because palm groves stretch as far as views on many hectares.

A unit of production of palm oil runs at 6 327.5 tonnes per year from the district.

This figure could triple after the launch of the agropole production, processing and marketing of palm oil in Edea by the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and regional Development (Minepat) Yaouba Abdoulaye.

The motivation is that "our country imports more than 100,000 tonnes of palm oil per year while countries that have become production of this oil related powers have refueled seed in Cameroon," said Mindel. So it is a matter of boosting production for palm oil to be used for industrialization (soap, refining etc).

This is especially when the area is a large oil palm cultivation basin. Over a billion and a half have been mobilized for the project, the contribution of the state amount to FCFA 612 million.

Apart from financial support, the Agropoles program intends to invest in the rehabilitation of 25 kilometers road, connection to the electricity grid, supporting inputs (seeds, fertilizers), gear, and the establishment of an oil processing unit.

According to Adrian Ngo'o Bitomo, National Coordinator of Agropoles program: "The oil processing link will be strengthened”. 100 permanent and 1,000 temporary jobs are expected to result from this initiative. The ultimate goal for Martial Ngue, representing "agropoleurs" is to limit imports of palm oil in Cameroon.

Freshwater Fish

The 22nd agropole program, this time based on the rearing of fish, put its brand in Limbe, Fako. According to Yaouba Abdoulaye, South West Region, by its position overlooking the sea, its the high rainfall and eating habits of its people that revolve around marine wildlife an an ideal location.

The program is the culmination of an initiative that farmers produce (at the moment) 83.39 tons of fish annually. With more than FCFA 522 million given by the state to them, "agropoleurs" is considering to increase this figure to 813.2 tonnes.

In details, the program envisages a production of about 1.66 million fry quality for farmers of the department and its surroundings at FCFA 150 for the unit, according to the PCA of the cooperative, Johnson Njocke. 15 permanent and 50 temporary job opportunities should arise from this project. So far, the Agropole program has already promoted the creation of 240 companies in the country.

The objective is to achieve the creation of 3000 direct jobs in the long term. The walk continues this week with the launch of agropoles production and marketing of fish from the Dja-et-Lobo and pear in Noun.