A meeting of the sectoral ministries,producers and financial experts took ,place in Douala from October 27th to 29th in Douala.The committee aimed elaborating a common agricultural charter in the CEMAC zone.
Food and nutritional insecurity severely affects the populations of this sub-regional area, despite the efforts made by the States to eradicate the phenomenon and its consequences. Thus, food and nutrition insecurity remains a concern for CEMAC countries, which intend to reverse the trend through effective and timely policies.
It is in this context that the first brainstorming meeting for the elaboration of a common agricultural charter between countries of the CEMAC zone opened in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon. The short-, medium- and long-term objectives of the meeting were to “reflect constructively on the consensual approach to be followed in drawing up a community agricultural charter that takes into account the current concerns of agriculture in the CEMAC zone, with a view to strengthening Central Africa’s agricultural systems“, explained Ada Nlang Nanicia, CEMAC’s Director of Agriculture and Rural Development, representing Shey Jones Yembe, the Commissioner in charge of the Department of Infrastructures and Sustainable Development at CEMAC.
In total, some twenty experts and institutions took part in the Douala workshop: ”Despite the efforts of CEMAC countries to adopt strategies and policies over the past 15 years, the African Development Bank’s 2019-2025 regional integration strategy paper, as well as various regional programmes, CEMAC countries are still faced with an agricultural population that is in sharp decline in favour of progressive and accentuated urbanisation, food production that does not meet the needs of the population,” observed Henry-Serge Kemgang, Head of the Studies, Planning, Cooperation and Statistics Division at the Cameroonian Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (Minepia), the session chairman.
At the end of three days of work, the participants should consolidate a draft common agricultural charter and define the timetable for its implementation: “We are going to examine the productivity of agriculture in the CEMAC zone, because it does not meet the requirements of the people. The resources allocated to this productivity are low. The obvious consequence is food insecurity and famine,” says consultant Laomaibao Neteyo. The experts meeting in Douala unfortunately noted the fragility of agriculture and food systems in several countries that depend heavily on external markets. These fragilities have been exacerbated by Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian crisis.
