Cocoa and coffee sector:

Gov/t targets 600.000 tons of cocoa by 2020

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

DrYankamNjonou, inspector general of agricultural development in the

ministry of agriculture and rural development talking to the press

A workshop to promote Cameroon cocoa and coffee sector recovery and development plan by 2020 has this Thursday, August 4 2016 been organized by the monitoring officials from the Prime minister’s office in collaboration with the private and public sector stakeholders in cocoa and coffee sector at Elongo Hotel in Kumba, chief town of Meme division. The new five year recovery and development plan is a strategic plan to develop the cocoa and coffee sectors from 2015-2020.

                According to Dr. YankamNjonou, inspector general of agricultural development at the ministry of agriculture and rural development, the quantitative objectives of the plan include the production of 600000 tons of cocoa, 125 tons of Arubustica coffee and 35 000 tons of Arabica coffee. He also revealed the main areas of the plan will cover the main elements of the value chain of the sector such as research, production, marketing, processing, consumption and promotions.

                The plan estimated at some 600 billion FCFA was conceived by both the public and private stakeholders with the various elements in the value chain. According the officials, the estimated cost will be mobilized within the five year period that is 120 billion FCFA per year. To this effect, the government and the stakeholders have decided to increase export tax of cocoa from 24 to 150 FCFA and 100FCFA for coffee.

                While opening the workshop, the senior divisional officer of Meme, KoulboutAman David expressed satisfaction to the Prime minister and head of government, Philemon Yang for giving Kumba the pride of place to host the event. The SDO revealed the timing of the workshop immediately after the launching of the 2016/2017 cocoa season is quite important for the cocoa and coffee operators to brainstorm on how to harmonize cocoa production in the international market. To the SDO, the seminar is as defined by the country’s vision of emerging by 2035 in the growth and employment strategy paper which underlines among other things the relevant actions and attributions of the cocoa and coffee sub sectors.

                One of the major fallout of the workshop as revealed by the officials will be strategies that will be adopted at the end of the workshop to sensitize all actors in the cocoa production chain so as to meet up with the 2020 objectives. Meantime, the final document shall serve as a reference to all the participants and operators in the sector as it will carry better measures to adopt in the realization of the five year plan.

                The workshop comes immediately after the launching of the 2016/2017 cocoa season in Konye and was attended by officials from the monitory unit of cocoa and coffee sectors in the Prime minister’s office, operators in the both the public and private sectors from the Littoral and the South west region alongside other participants and cocoa producers.