Funding was provided by German cooperation and the European Union for two projects launched in Garoua. On November 4, 2020 in Garoua in the North region, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel Mbairobe, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy and Regional Planning, Paul Tasong, and the Governor from the North region, Jean Abate Edi’i, officially launched the projects “support for changes in the Cameroon cotton basin-rural development support program (ABC-PADER)” and “sustainability and added value in agricultural supply chains (PROCOTON) ”.
Both initiatives have benefited from foreign funding. ABC-Pader has benefited from a joint envelope from the European Union and Germany amounting to 12.725 billion FCFA. As for Procoton, which is only supported by Angela Merkel’s country, it has received funding of CFAF 1.9 billion. As for the specific case of the latter project, it is implemented in the three northern regions of the country.
“The main beneficiaries of this vast program are small producers, processors, breeders, private companies in the textile and clothing sector and agro-pastoral entrepreneurs, with a particular emphasis on the vulnerable layers of young people and women.
The Cotton Development Company (SODECOTON) and the National Confederation of Cameroon Cotton Producers in Cameroon and the agro-pastoral training centers are the key players in this program that GIZ will run until 2024.”
During his speech for the occasion, Gabriel Mbairobe indicated that “55% of the added value generated by cotton goes to producers. This is one of the most profitable speculations. The search for a compromise between mass production and the preservation of biodiversity, especially sustainable soil management, has been encouraged by donors. Both projects aim to increase incomes and create jobs through the local processing of cotton.”
