OGCEYOD Cameroon Sorghum for Prosperity; Fairtrade Future Produce for Vulnerable Regions in Cameroon

The Far North and North regions of Cameroon are amongst the least developed of the country’s 10 regions. The recent and ongoing conflicts with terrorist group Boko Haram (Far North) has further weakened these regions whose economies are primarily based on agriculture. Together, they constitute 28.5% of the country’s population and with the Far North hosting over 60,000 refugees from Nigeria and over 81,000 IDPs.

The two regions are economically weakened. Poor farming techniques, planting low yield species, poor quality control, lack of preservation and transformation equipment and disconnection from the agribusiness chain limits the quantity and quality of yields. The use of child labour casts a dark shadow on farm practices. All these contribute in not only making the food security situation worse but also in missing the significant business opportunity offered by Guinness Cameroon (a UK company) to increase its use of local produce (sorghum, cassava and maize) for the brewing of its beers.
Smallholder farmers in the conflict affected northern region of Cameroon get economic empowerment through improved sorghum yields, better management skills and use of a fair-trade compliant supply chain to take advantage of trade opportunities with food beverage company Guinness Cameroon.
We are supporting the partnership between Guinness Cameroon and Cameroon government’s PIDMA ( Investment Project for the Development of Agricultural Markets) to
• to improve the skills on farming and trains lead farmers and local service providers in basic extension skills so they are able to train other farmers, increase yields 3.2 tons per ha to 4.5 tons per ha by 2017/2018 and implement farming of drought resistant sorghum in accordance with a new programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development called PIDMA.
• Ensure farming in the regions is based principles of fair-trade agriculture which includes fair pricing, no child labour, gender equality and opportunities for economically disavataged people by training local cooperatives on the implementation of fair-trade policies.
This capability development training program consist of a knowledge-based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition that will help in improving food security by increasing incomes through improved agriculture production for the population in the Far North and North regions.

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