Rice 'Made in Cameroon' rare in markets

Supermarkets, shops and markets in Yaoundé, Douala, Bafoussam and other cities are experiencing a shortage of "made in Cameroon" rice.

In Yaounde for example, "the Cameroon rice is sold at the Dôvv supermarket in Mokolo (the only supermarket to sell) close to the Department of Trade and periodic market supply regulation Mission Consumer Products (Mirap)," informed Dorothy Malaa Kenyi, national coordinator of the Contract Debt and Development for rice Irad in Nkolbisson.

In Douala and Bafoussam, "Cameroon's rice is very rare," she said. In the North, for example, this cereal is grown by farmers. They sell it in bowls or calabashes; up to FCFA 200, sometimes FCFA 300.

According to our sources, the peculiarity of the rice sold by rice farmers in the villages is that the seeds are not peeled. "They are sometimes dried and sometimes not dried at all," said a former rice farmer. Whether for cooking or selling the rice is expensive and sold at FCFA 400, sometimes FCFA 500," he explains.

"Rice farmers peel them. But this takes a long time," he added. So in order to save time and money, rice farmers found any applicable and simple technique. To some, it is not the best because the rice sold to retailers is mostly broken and has a lot of waste. In addition, the colour does not really attract. Despite this, local patronisers have a field day when they find the Cameroon rice.

In Ngaoundere for example, "some students prefer to consume the Cameroon rice instead of Thai rice or Uncle Ben's," said Mohamadou, shopkeeper. A kilogram of rice from rice farms costs FCFA 350 in some shops.

However, local rice from Société d’Expansion et de Modernisation de la Riziculture(Semry)in Yagoua, the Far North, like that grown by researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) in Ndop in the North West and Nkolbisson, costs FCFA 500 a kilo.

According to the National Coordinator of Debt Reduction and Development Contract for rice, a 25 kilos bag of Cameroon rice costs FCFA 11,000.

This cost is within reach of Cameroonians. But it is the rarity of the finished product which is actually the real problem. As a result of the shortage, Cameroon now imports 400 to 600 thousand tons of rice per year.

The "Made in Cameroon" transformed only 10% of 70-80 000 tonnes by SEMRY, 90% is exported to Nigeria, in the form of Paddy rice (Paddy).