The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) now has a programming unit for its intervention in Cameroon for the next five years. The document was endorsed in a workshop in Yaounde on Wednesday May 15 chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jean Claude Eko'o Akoufane.

The document is a guide for the organisation to improve its methods of intervention so as to meet its objectives of ensuring food self-sufficiency and security in Cameroon. FAO's mandate, Eko'o Akoufane reiterated, is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world's economy. The five-year periodic programming unit, he added, will guide the organisation to integrate its priority actions in the country in line with government's development vision for the sector. Reason why the document was drawn up in a participatory manner including FAO, government and other stakeholders. The 2013-2017 action plan will therefore guide a sustainable development of the agriculture sector so as to boost yields and thus ensure food safety and sufficiency for the country. "It also needs to incite private entrepreneurs and regulate the sector to ensure socio-economic balance. This will be through two-fold interventions: Reinforcing economic governance and the promotion of the wellbeing of the population in a drive towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals," the SG said. The workshop was attended among others by the FAO Resident Representative for Cameroon, Mai Moussa Abari and the FAO Special Ambassador for Cooperatives, Elizabeth Atangana.