Lukong Pius Nyuylime
5 March 2008
The food processing and conservation project launched recently would create 3600 jobs.
Government action in favour of food processing activities in Cameroon is piloted by the Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft. Minister Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa recently launched the project in Yaounde announcing it will provide 3,600 job opportunities and increase the revenue of about 6,700 producers in rural areas.
According to Etoundi Ngoa, government has budgeted CFA 11,283 billion for the execution of the project. In all, the programme aims at developing Small and Medium Size Enterprises, SMEs, and promoting the processing and conservation of local products for mass consumption. It is expected to select and assist 150 small and medium size processing and conservation projects in the 10 provinces of the country in order to valorise natural products through processing and conservation for local consumption.
The programme is conceived against the backdrop of the hypothesis that it is more beneficial to process products at home than import them with added value. Imported products are believed to cost three times more than it would have cost if processed at home. According to the president of the pilot committee, Marie Louise Secke Pouka, the programme takes off immediately after150 small and medium size processing units in the 10 provinces are identified. Its implementation and development would be given administrative, technical and financial support. The earmarked budget for the programme expected to run for five years is sourced from the Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft, the HIPC funds and some private promoters.
The programme has three different organs; the plot committee, the central coordinating unit and provincial accompanying units. Since it is a nationwide programme, the criteria for selection would respond to the different products that are specific to the provinces.
The programme has its origin in a study conducted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) from 2003 to 2006, which indicated that there were lots of unexploited potentials in the agro-food processing as well as a weak small and medium size development in the domain of processing and conservation.
In other words it is an extension of the UNIDO programme that started in Bamenda and Bafoussam ushering in the agro-food processing programme to fight poverty and promote the revenue generating activities of women.
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