An initiative of the Cameroonian Government, this is the innovative model for financing agriculture that the CCODEF Administrator presented on 19 October 2022 at the Yaoundé Conference Centre, during the Regional Forum on Agricultural Finance.
Alongside other public bodies from different African ecosystems, in search of an adapted, sustainable and perennial mechanism to finance agro-pastoral activities, CCODEF actively participated in the regional forum dedicated to agricultural and regional finance, from 18 to 20 October 2022, in Yaounde. According to Gabriel MBAIROBE, the Minister of Agriculture, « one of the constraints of agriculture is the lack of financing. It is therefore a question for the participants in this forum to capitalise on the products, financial mechanisms and innovations developed in several countries by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and partners to share the mapping of solutions that can help actors in need of financing.
A pioneer in this field, the Cameroonian government is proposing the Producers’ Desk, the solution developed by CCODEF to provide direct subsidies for agricultural inputs and production infrastructure to cocoa and coffee producers. The Producers’ Desk has just completed its test phase in Moungo and its extension to other production basins is imminent. The statistics are growing steadily in view of the success of the operation, and to date nearly 62,000 products have been served through this mechanism, which puts the producer, the bank, the input supplier and the CCODEF in interactive contact. Based on digital technology, the system aims at speed, quality and profitability, thus ensuring the improvement of producers’ living conditions.
In addition to the 13 delegations from Central and West Africa, the event attracts crowds of young entrepreneurs, agro-dealers, business leaders, CIGs, microfinance institutions and banks who have come to share their experiences or in search of knowledge that can lead to professional and financial opportunities. This in a context where it is difficult for young people to engage in agropastoral entrepreneurship, given the unprecedented economic crisis that the world is experiencing.
Taking advantage of the globalisation of the world economy and its corollary, the use of new information and communication technologies, the Cameroonian government has made the winning bet of a solution that combines digitalisation, banking, quality and environmental protection. This solution, whose public presentation by Samuel Donatien NENGUE, the CCODEF Administrator, on 19 October 2022, met with general approval, will certainly be emulated in Africa and elsewhere.
Nina ONGBEHOCK
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