The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel Mbairobe, presided over the validation workshop of the development strategy of the rice sector in Yaounde last May 16 May.

Cameroon wants to develop 60,000 ha of irrigated rice and 200,000 ha for rainfed rice and produce 6,000 tons of certified seeds per year by 2030. In addition, the government plans to provide producers with power tillers, mini-cultivators, threshers and hullers.

These resolutions were set out on May 16 during a workshop chaired by the Minister of Agriculture to validate the development strategy for the rice sector. The objective of this strategy is to boost local rice production and to make imports, which currently dominate the market, residual. The country hence hopes to increase its production to 750,000 tonnes by 2030 in order to bring the self-sufficiency rate to 97%.

“The objective, far from being to produce only, is to make high quality rice available on the markets at competitive prices. This involves modernising the means of production through agricultural mechanisation, reorganising the actors in the sector,” said Minister Gabriel Mbairobe.

The overall cost of the strategy is estimated by the ministry at CFAF 385 billion, including CFAF 298 billion for irrigated areas and CFAF 87 billion for other goods and services. The funds will be mobilised from development partners, the private sector and the public investment budget. It should be recalled that the country is not yet able to satisfy the local demand for rice, estimated at 600,000 tonnes. And to fill the deficit, estimated at more than 200,000 tonnes, the state has resorted to imports.