Cocoa / Coffee: National treatment orchard in process

MINADER last Tuesday officially launched this operation Atok in the Eastern Region.

The project was in order to double annual production. Cocoa / coffee orchard, Cameroon suffers of aging planters and plants. But after analysis, the agronomists found that production areas suffer more from disease (brown rot, capsid, beetle, anthracnose ...) caused by fungi and other insect pests.

Where production losses were estimated at 50% of the final performance. Producers have yet growing phytosanitary treatment. Except that observation, they do it haphazardly, without mastery of specific time to disinfect the amount of product to be applied to plants and even less to the quality of insecticides and fungicides they acquire. This is a quality problem at the origin of the decline in production in the last national cocoa campaign.

In this context where the government intends to boost production, with a target of 600 000 tonnes in 2020 (220 000 tonnes currently produced in a year), the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) has decided to act otherwise.

"Like all planters who do not know how to protect their orchard or cannot do so at the same time, we began to make systematic treatment ourselves," said Essimi Menye. It was in cocoa production area of Atok, Eastern Region, where he officially launched the annual campaign of the national treatment orchard for cocoa and coffee. He said that "the operation is not new.

The change is at the surface to be treated. Formerly, only 20% of the treated in the orchard. Now it will be a full treatment of all production areas of the country”. Following the Minister, the coordinator of the project to support the fight against antifungal in cocoa / coffee sectors (PALAF2C) ensures to revive these sectors, there are only two solutions: either we create new farms or we maintain existing ones, knowing that the treatment induces direct effects, with an additional return of at least 40%.

"We should get to double production if treated according to the standards. Except that we found out that the products that the government give producers were misused, misappropriated or sold. This time, we will apply ourselves and in a synchronized manner, "says the coordinator.

So no one is unaware, Essimi Menye insists that "the operation that leads MINADER was decided by the Head of State. So it is free, there is no payment to make." In practice, ministry teams will be supported by a village brigade. Specifically trained farmers’ representatives to accompany the technicians and follow up with their peers.