Cameroon/Cacao-Café: a new subsidy window for Cameroonian producers

In an interview published this month in the news magazine of the Ministry of Agriculture, Samuel Donatien Nengue, the administrator of the Fund for the Development of the Cocoa and Coffee Sectors (Fodecc) announces the creation of a new subsidy tool called " Guichet producteurs ".

" Le Guichet Producteurs issues three types of subsidies. Subsidies for agricultural inputs, i.e. fertilizers, seeds/plants and phytosanitary products (category 1). The subsidy for agricultural equipment and machinery (category 2). Finally, the one that concerns production support infrastructures ( category 3) ", he explains.

According to the same source, the Guichet is open to all producers, subject to the double condition of the ability to co-finance agricultural investment and to get in touch with digital technology. Here, it is the producer who triggers the acquisition process by mobilizing his or her majority share of 60 to 70%. The Fodecc then releases for each producer the amount of the subsidy up to 30 to 40%. There are no calls for tenders, no contracts to be awarded, and no stocks to build up.

More specifically, explains the administrator, category 1 subsidies are open to all producers of Cameroonian nationality, without discrimination of gender, ethnicity, creed or physical condition. However, the producer must have a geolocatable plantation of at least two hectares and fill out an identification form using a smartphone or PC application. They must also have a funded account at a bank or licensed microfinance institution.

The bank account must have an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the e-voucher or e-voucher requested for the purchase of inputs from a local distributor. The bank account can be funded in cash or via a mobile money operator (Orange Money, Mobile Money, YUP, Express Union mobile). Finally, the producer must not be under penalty or have exhausted his rights to a subsidy.

As far as Type 2 conditions are concerned, which relate to subsidies in categories 2 and 3, the conditions set out above must always be met. In addition, the producer must meet the conditions of eligibility for co-financing, i.e. provide the producer organisation's operating documents, draw up and keep up to date year by year the annual financial statements and prepare a 3 to 5 year development plan. Finally, it must prepare and present a reliable business plan. For this type of subsidy, two technical committees at district level and then at regional level decide on the quality of the application of the producer or producer organisation in the light of its business plan.

The aim of this innovation, explains Samuel Donatien Nengue, is to promote the quantitative and qualitative increase in production in the cocoa and coffee sectors. The government's objective is to increase national cocoa production to 640 000 tonnes by 2030, compared to 257 151 tonnes in the 2019-2020 season. As for coffee, the targeted production is 160 000 tonnes compared to 22 000 tonnes at present.

Source: www.investiraucameroun.com