Cameroon negotiates FCFA 110 billion loan from ADB

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (ADB) will review the funding application Development Project of agricultural value chains (PD-CVA) submitted by the Cameroonian government, on December 9, 2015.

This was the conclusion after the Minister of Agriculture, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, granted Racine Kane, Resident Representative of ADB in Cameroon, an audience.

"With the minister, we found that all steps went smoothly, the planned activities are running and there is nothing that opposes the presentation of the project to the appreciation Board of the ADB," said Racine Kane at the end of the hearing.

This project of a total cost of FCFA 110 billion will be implemented in Central, South, East, Littoral and Southwest regions.

According to the description proposed by the ADB, the PD-CVA "targets three plant sectors (plantain, pineapple, and palm oil) because of their level of integration and maturity of their markets and possibilities for processing, their economic importance (income and jobs) and their impact on food security."

Specifically, sources informed that the project will rehabilitate approximately 1,000 km of rural tracks in the production areas concerned, the construction of a quality control laboratory, the construction of community infrastructure and warehouses and the construction of 30 Km power grid.

The PD-CVA also includes a component of professional integration, particularly for women (40% of the 1,500 people that the project aims) and young graduates. These will be framed in "incubation centers for careers in agribusiness by helping them start their own businesses (600 new businesses were presented as part of the project)."