The Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has appealed on women and the youths to go into cocoa production, processing and exportation so as to boost the country’s economic growth rate.

This was during the country's 4th Cocoa Festival (FESTICACAO) that was organized by Cocoa and Coffee Inter-professional Board (CCIB) in the capital city Yaounde on Friday and Saturday,

“Cocoa is one of the main export product from Cameroon and I believe if our women and the youth also get very involved in this sector it will boost our national economy. Moreover, as part of boosting the economy, it is also important that cocoa must not be exported only in raw form but processed into other products such as chocolate, soap, etc, so that our country can earn more money,” he stated.

Raw cocoa is currently the third main export product from Cameroon, after crude oil and timber. But it is grown mainly by men.

Cameroon is the fourth cocoa growing country in Africa after Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria, and the fifth in the world.

However, also speaking during the festival, most of the women present complained that the land in the country is owned mainly by men and appealed to the government to take strong measures to also provide them more land so that they can also grow the crop.