By Harry McYemnti
Cameroon is a country with enormous natural resources and huge potential for agricultural production. Food production over the last forty years has barely kept pace with the population growth, ensuring basic food sufficiency. However, the country has been under the “Food for Progress” programme of the United States government. The aid consists of tons of rice and vegetable oil. According to the agreement, the aid which is destined to particular regions of the country, at given periods coinciding with regional production deficiency, is sold and the proceeds used to finance development projects within the region. The programme is now under fire from civil society groups.
When the programme started in 2003, Cameroon received donation worth 3 billion FCFA (US$ 6 million) destined to the Northern provinces of the country. In 2004, the US government donated 11.000 tons of rice to the value 2.5 billion FCFA to the East and Adamawa regions. In 2005, it was the turn of the Centre and Southwest
regions who received a consignment of 11.000 tons of rice, worth 2.5 billion FCFA.
This supposedly largesse has attracted fierce criticism from some civil society groups. Mr Bernard Njonga, President of Cameroon’s most outspoken consumer’s right association, Citizens Association for the Defence of Collective Interest (ACDIC), sees the donation differently and negatively too. He considers the aid “a factor aggravating the country’s food insecurity”. According to Njonga, “instead of helping us to produce in order to reinforce our self-sufficiency, we are being given food as aid...whereas we are not hungry”. In his view, the programme “has nothing to do with progress”. Njonga, who is widely known as the
spokesperson of Cameroon's farmers and a publisher of the tabloid, The Farmer’s Voice, understands that
the programme will add nothing to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the concerned regions. “If rice is sold in a region, and the money used to fund projects in the region then there is definitely no external contribution of capital or even equipment,” he posited recently. However, he is of the opinion that “the
products should have been sold in some other places possible out of Cameroon and the money used to fund projects in the concerned regions in Cameroon, if the food for progress programme really wanted to contribute to the development of Cameroon.”
According to statistics, Cameroon imports about 400.000 tons of rice yearly, to meet shortfalls in national production and stratify national consumption demand. According to Bernard Njonga, this strangulates and kills local production. Cameroon produces about 50.000 tons of rice per year. On this score, Njonga opines that even 4.000 tons of rice donated by the US government will only add to the misfortune of local producers. “This is not good to our local producers,” be roared recently in a public meeting. “A 25 kg bag of US donated rice sells at 13.000 FCFA (US$ 26) will distort local market.” “Considering that 80% of the population of Cameroon’s two big cities of Douala and Yaounde, consume rice 2 to 3 times weekly,” the ACDIC president intimated that “the American rice will reinforce the country’s food dependence and consequently enshrine food insecurity.” “It is disastrous…I will say this is food for No progress and Food to prevent development programme,” he hurled words to pressmen.
Bernard Njonga and his association who were also interested in the quality of the product donated by the US government, collected samples from the market and sent to laboratory for analyses. But the results which were delivered to ACDIC last February 19, 2007 by the Centre Wallon de Recherche Agronomique in Gembloux, Belgium that conducted the analyses proved negative. “If not we would have lodged a complaint against the Ambassador of the United Stats for having served contaminated rice to the people of Cameroon”, said Njonga.
There are three rice producing basins in Cameroon, which include Yagoua in the Northern region, Santchu in the western region, and Ndop in the Northwest region. About 33.000 hectares have been allocated for the production of irrigated rice, shared as follows; 13.000 ha for Yagoua, 5.000 ha for Santchu and 15.000 ha for Ndop. Unfortunately in 2005, only 6.000 ha were exploited in the Northern region against 13.000 ha in 2004, while in Ndop only 1.900 ha was exploited against 15.000 ha. Similarly, in Santchu only 2000 ha were exploited on the total of 5.000. Cameroon has failed to build on its enormous potential. A large proportion of rice sold in local market is imported, and sold at a price considered as “dumping”. In 2005 Cameroon imported 433.000 tons of rice against 329.000 tons in 2004, indicating an increase of 104.000 tons (33%) evaluated at 72.5 billion FCFA. Of the 15 labels of rice found in the Cameroon market, 14 are of Asian origin.
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