The government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) has launched a support project to acquire and distribute fungicides and other pests-combating medications to cocoa and coffee farmers in the country with the goal of boosting quantity and quality production of the main export produce.

The project, code-named, "Support Project for Fungi Control in the Cocoa and Coffee Sub-sectors (SPFC2C) set up in 2011 was officially launched in Mbalmayo last Friday July 13 by the Secretary General in MINADER, Jean Claude Eko'o Akouafane, representing the Minister.

The project to last for three years will operate with a budget of FCFA 3.15 billion from the Cocoa and Coffee Development Fund (FODECC). According to the project's Coordinator, Alain Bindzi, the project seeks to improve the living conditions of cocoa and coffee producers through phytosanitary protection of farms. This entails combating black pod in cocoa, anthracnose (black spot) and coffee leaf rust as well as training village phytosanitary intervention teams and leaders of producer associations. Mr Bindzi disclosed that the support will be direct and indirect. Direct support will be in the form of antifungal agents, herbicides, phytosanitary equipment (sprayers and atomizers) and body protection equipment (boots, hand gloves, overalls, mufflers and eyeglasses). Indirect support will be in the form of training on phytosanitary control and management, awareness and information campaign. Specifically, some 720 leaders of farmer organisations and 1,500 village phytosanitary brigades will be trained and some 1,628,000 sachets of fungicides, some 600 atomizers, 500 protection kits and some 460 sprayers given out. This will be in the production regions of Centre, South, East, West, North West, Littoral South West and Adamawa.

The Secretary General said government is unwavering in revolutionalising agriculture and that this passes through reviving once vibrant sectors like cocoa and coffee whose export earnings and the people they employ are non-negligible to the country's socio-economic development. Statistics show that cocoa and coffee cover about 600,000 hectares (350,000 for cocoa, 150,000 for Robusta and 100,000 for Arabica) to be touched by the project. Like Oyono Jean-Marie, Administrator of FODECC, Mr Eko'o Akouafane prescribed transparency in managing the funds. Potential beneficiaries like Fang Francis, President of North West Cooperation Association and Epie Leah, Acting Divisional Chief of Phytosanitary Brigade, Meme Division lauded the project as a stitch in time but prayed for concerted efforts to provide producers with farm-to-market roads as well as assist them in marketing the produce.