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The agricultural family is unanimous that the sector landscape in the country is undergoing total transformation and individuals and collective stakeholders are now aware that agriculture is a business and not simply a way of life; and the earnings from the investments should lead to improved standard of living. While the state of agriculture appears interesting, the stakes in implementing the agricultural policy are very high. Challenges are therefore countless and officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, MINADER, are committed to reversing the trend.

MINADER’s boss, Henri Eyebe Ayissi while opening the annual conference for officials of the central and devolved services in Yaounde yesterday, February 21, 2017, cited 15 points as challenges for 2017 that must be overcome to meet government’s wish of modernizing the sector. The effective respect of the 2017 agric season, the speedy implementation of the Three-year Emergency Plan, the production and distribution of improved seeds, the improvement of productivity and competitiveness of the country’s main cash crops, the modernization of infrastructure and the control of standards to meet international norms were all listed as priority. The Minister also highlighted the need to improve access to funding, the restructuring of farmer cooperatives, the promotion of agric entrepreneurship, the follow-up of reforms to meet socio-economic and political realities, the finalization of the organizational chart of the ministry and above all, the organization of the roundtable conference on agriculture as instructed by government as other pressing objectives. Frank collaboration is therefore indispensable and MINADER boss told his collaborators that it is time to get down to real business. Resources will be put at the disposal of all, to achieve set objectives but before then, the agric family must show proof of commitment to changing the face of the sector.
The representative of State corporations under the tutelage of the Ministry, that of regional delegates as well as projects and programmes pledged unflinching support to sustaining policies and strategies of the second-generation agriculture which harp on modernizing the sector. They however cited the lack of personnel, infrastructure, high cost of farm labour due to rural exodus, high post-harvest losses, aging farms and farming population, near absence of post-harvest and storage structures and high incidence of pest and diseases as impediments requiring more attention.

Source : Victorine BIY NFOR