K’ba Agro-Industry welcomes new professionals

By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba

Graduates of the Community Development Specialisation Training School (C.D.S.T.S) and Rural Equipment Development Specialisation Training School (R.E.D.S.T.S), all of Kumba, have been called upon to be entrepreneurs and agents of change rather than focusing solely on inclusion into the public service corps.
    The dual graduation ceremony took place July 22 at the schools’ joint campus under the auspices of the Meme Senior Divisional Officer, Koulbout Aman David, and South-West Regional Delegate of Agriculture and Rural Development, Enang James Enang, who both declared the graduates fit for the job market after two years of supervised study.
They encouraged the fresh batch of professionals, adept with second generation agricultural realities, to take advantage of the financial aid package offered to owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, and by so doing, to create jobs for others.

    Presenting an academic discourse with focus on the pivotal role agriculture plays in Cameroon, the Deputy Director of C.D.S.T.S, Kenneth Fru, recognised agriculture as the backbone of Cameroon’s economy and an essential tool to eradicate poverty.
    “A country is considered economically and politically stable if it has a fertile land which will ensure food security, agricultural productivity and income,” he stated, calling on the graduates to be agents of change in the transition process of moving the Cameroonian agricultural sector from the subsistence or traditional method of production, which employs rudimentary tools, to a mechanised system which will raise agricultural productivity, integrate agriculture into local and international markets effectively, and create even more employment opportunities.
    The 49 graduates from C.D.S.T.S. obtained two diplomas each: Senior Technicians in Agro-Pastoral Diploma from MINADER and a Higher National Diploma from MINESUP. On their part, the 56 new alumni of R.E.D.S.T.S. acquired the status of Senior Technicians of Infrastructure, Rural Equipment and Water Resource Management with a diploma.
    The graduation ceremony also seemed to be a celebration of feminine virtues. Women have often been regarded as under-dogs in the agricultural sphere, often focusing on food crops instead of cash crops, and thus remaining the poorer gender in the profession. In the training schools, however, the female folk defended their colours by emerging in the top positions in all disciplines except one. Matter-of-fact, the R.E.D.S.T.S. valedictorian, Sonhana Teiyo Simone, a major in the Water Supply and Agricultural Hydraulic Management programme, received honours and almost a dozen prizes. The student who emerged first in the Civil Engineering department was also female, causing the M.C. to exclaim, “Ou sont les hommes?” - ‘Where are the boys?’
    Both C.D.S.T.S and R.E.D.S.T.S were created in 2011 as reference training institutions and have each graduated 03 batches of students. The students come in as holders of G.C.E A/L Science Certificates, and are selected yearly through a competitive entrance examination organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.