Cocoa and coffee farmers across the country are intensifying discussions in view of putting in place an internal marketing committee to boost the gathering of statistics and sale of the produce both for decision-making and the livelihoods of producers.

Under the auspices of the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board (CCIB), producers from all the production zones in the country have been holding meetings on how the committee would work to surmount the challenges that stare the cocoa and coffee sector in the face. Stakeholders say there is a lot of the produce that is haphazardly sold by uninformed producers and unlicensed buyers. Not only does this compromise the viability of statistics that usually guide development policies but also hinder farmers from benefiting from their sweat.

After the South and East Regions, it was the turn of those of the Centre Region to play host to the nation-wide concertation last Friday August 10. Addressing producers during the meeting, the National President of Cocoa/Coffee Producer's Association, André Belebenie, said the objective of the committee-in-the-making is to cleanse the mess in the marketing of the produce. "The internal marketing committee is to be managed by producers themselves through their associations. This entails identifying their needs right from production, marketing and processing of the produce, drawing up and disseminating sales programme communicating on the statistics and prices, among others," he said. Upon creation, the committee, it was revealed, will guide the actions of stakeholders in the cocoa and coffee sector, better organise producers into groups as well as come up with marketing strategies that would ward off clandestine buying agents who often capitalise on the ignorance of producers to feed fat on them. The producers were also drilled on the projects CCIB has for them.

While raising problems of farm-to-market roads, drying methods that jeopardise quality, producers saw in the would-be committee a new dawn for them. But they expressed fears over increasing clandestine buying agents who get authorisation from local administrative authorities to buy cheap from producers only to make huge returns from their sweat. Mr Belebenie said their next stopover will be in Kumba, South West Region before going to Douala. All of these, he said, have to be done on time so that the 2012-2013 cocoa and coffee seasons to be launched soon would start to bear fruit.