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Friday, February 4, 2011

Can Cameroon Stop Importing Rice?

Cameroon imported more than 400 thousand tons of the rice in 2010. This figure represents over 80% of the rice it consumes. During the Ebolowa agro pastoral show, we were again reminded of Cameroon’s rice growing potential. Farmers who grow rice under the Upper Noun Valley Development Authority (UNVDA), say they can double their production if government decided to invest in the sector.

The farmers from Ndop displayed just how they can grow rice, believed to be grown only in marshlands, almost anywhere.While huge potential also exists in the plains of Yagoua in the Far North region.

Rice is just one example of Cameroon’s agricultural potential, but controversially the country remains largely dependent on foreign imports.

It is urgent for the country to reverse this trend, as we hear in the following analysis by fonka mutta beau-bernard.