Some 30 rural women farmers from the Southwest and West Regions have been trained on modern maize farming techniques.

For two days, the women, drawn from Alou in Lebialem Division and Bafousam, were drilled on the modern techniques needed to have high yields through the choice of farmland, good seedlings, when and how to plant, respecting planting spacing, when to use fertilisers, how to weed, when to harvest, among other techniques.

The trainees said their outputs were largely below input. Monica Chumoh, President of a women farmers’ association in Alou appreciated the seminar: “We now know why our crops did not grow well; this is because we plant many different crops on the same piece of land, we put many grains in a hole instead of two, and we do not respect the spacing between the holes. If I apply these modern methods, I will waste less energy for more gain. I am very anxious to go teach the other women who could not make it to the seminar.”

The women were taught that, while planting, they should leave 75cm width and 50cm length spaces in between planting lines and 40cm between seed holes, plant two grains per hole in order to have 53,333 plants per hectare.

They were also advised to reserve seedlings to replace those that have germinated and they should use 20 to 25kg of seeds per hectare, the seed should be planted 20cm deep and covered with soil for good contact between them.

The women were also told to choose good quality seeds and not any kind of corn. In other to control bad weeds, the trainees were advised to do manual weeding and do it early enough.

Like Monica, many of the women said they were anxiously waiting for the next season to begin implementing the new methods they have learnt.

Talking to journalists, the Trainer, Blasius Mbi, Senior Agriculture Technician, said the seminar aimed at training mothers and farmers to stop the archaic method of planting corn and embrace the modern method with the aim of increasing their yields and revenue that will enable them live comfortable lives from corn farming. He added that with the modern method, the women can gain up to FCFA 250,000 per hectare.

According to the Trainer, maize is a main food item. It is the third most cultivated cereal after rice and wheat. It plays an important role in human and animal feeding, it is used in industries (oil, breweries, fuel), and it constitutes 60 percent of animal feed.

“Maize farming gives much income especially during periods of scarcity. Maize adapts to all climates except in cases where temperatures are very low. Maize is profitable and can give much money in a short period of four to five months to investors.”

The National President of the Committee to Assist Needy Women in Cameroon, known by its French acronym, CAFENEC, Lydienne Nkaleu, said the seminar held thanks to financial assistance from African Women Development Fund.

She said CAFENEC will organise follow-up sessions because: “Our goal is to take these women, who are mostly widows out of poverty by cultivating maize, not only for family consumption, but also for commercialisation. We want to create a maize farm of 40 hectares after this seminar in order to give these women a financial autonomy.