Activities of the rice production hubs of Cameroon located in Ndop, Lagdo and Mbam in the Northwest, North and Centre Regions, respectively, as well as their task forces, have been brought under a single national coordination.

The revelation was made in Yaounde August 27, during the first ever National Rice Hub Partner Meeting in Cameroon by a Senior Researcher at IRAD and National Coordinator of the programme, Dr. Francis Ngome Ajebesone. The meeting held under the theme: “Ensuring the Wide-scale Diffusion of Research Products.”

Disclosing that the synchronisation of the activities of the rice production hubs in the country came following recommendations of AfricaRice at a February 2014 meeting, Dr. Ngome told the press that “the hubs are strategic regions for rice sector development. Here, rice research products and local innovations are integrated across the rice value chain to create outcomes and impact by linking development partners and value chain actors,” he stated.

He appreciated the strong collaboration existing between the funding body, AfricaRice and the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, IRAD in fostering the rice sector in Cameroon. He said one of the objectives of the meeting was to put in place strategies aimed at maximising synergies between projects and to ensure wide-scale dissemination of results.

According to Dr. Ngome, the meeting was a forum for them to come up with an action plan that will help create more visibility of their activities, enhance competitiveness of locally produced rice and improve the livelihoods of rice value chain actors.

Stating that less than 30 percent of rice consumed in the country is locally produced, he said the quality and quantity of the said rice must be improved upon in order to overturn the dominance of imported rice in the market. For this to happen, he said, the improved variety of seeds to be distributed to the various households for cultivation must be of good quality.

In a power-point presentation, Dr. Ngome said the six rice task forces that hitherto worked independently in the three rice production hubs will now be working as a team under the national coordination. He outlined the task forces to include: policy, gender, processing and value addition, agronomy, breeding and mechanisation task forces. He also used the occasion to highlight the ongoing activities of the various task forces.

Responding to questions from the press, the AfricaRice Regional Representative, Dr. Amadou Moustapha Beye, described the issue of quality seeds as a complex one. He said the problem is compounded by the numerous actors in the sector such as researchers, producers, traders, farmers, etc, who are operating without some synergy.

He remarked that AfricaRice, in collaboration with research institutes such as IRAD, are working hard to resolve the problem. He said in no distant future, quality rice seeds for purely irrigation and rain-fed would be produced and put at the disposal of all interested farmers. Another problem which he said needs to be handled urgently is access to credit facilities by the farmers.

He, however, exonerated researchers who have been working to boost the rice sector through improved quality seeds, stating that if rice is yet to be produced massively on the continent, then, the blame goes to policy makers who are charged with dissemination and implementation of research results.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Rice Project at IRAD in Nkolbisson-Yaounde, Dr. Dorothy Mala’a, said rice varieties got mixed up in the 1980s, especially as activities of the sector had slumped. She said with the hunger strike of 2008, new varieties such as Nerica were developed and introduced to the farmers.

“This rice variety is currently being cultivated all over the country and farmers only need some motivation, especially access to credit facilities and land in order to produce in large quantities,” Dr. Mala’a stated.

Stakeholders at the meeting included researchers, rice producers and proprietors of rice hulling machines, warehouse owners, transporters and restaurant operators. Problems highlighted by the participants included poor quality and insufficiency of locally produced rice in the market, amongst many others.