In recent times, once the name Chin Richard Wirnkar
is mentioned in the North West region or elsewhere in the country, everyone
thinks of the highly-delicious and very widely-consumed Ndop rice. In other
words, the name Chin Richard has become synonymous with Ndop rice on account of
the astounding efforts he is making to not only better the production of the
staple food but also increase it.
It was indeed by no error that this agricultural
entrepreneur of high-standing was appointed general manager of the once failing
Upper Noun Valley Development Authority (UNVDA) – Ndop in the North West. For,
within just a little over a year of his appointment, the new UNVDA boss has
done what all his predecessors; put together, were not able to do for decades.
UNVDA before Chin Richard
Before Chin Richard came to the scene, the giant
agro industry had become only a shadow of itself. Rice production was
permanently on a decline owing to poor, uninspiring management; and importation
was experiencing an upward trend. The general manager himself had a more
technical description of the situation when he told the government daily,
Cameroon Tribune: “…in the recent past, we only had four new tractors and one
old one. We suffered a lot and pressure on their use was coming from our five
production sectors of Upper and Lower Bamunka, Babungo, Bangolan and Monoum…”
In addition, workers were far from satisfied with
the way they were being treated and this dampened their enthusiasm in no small
way thereby negatively affecting the general output of the UNVDA.
Instead of making extra efforts to improve the
situation, Chin Richard’s successive predecessors spent time paying lip service
and blaming the government for not giving subventions to the project. They
would not spare any effort to fulminate the powers-that-be for giving priority to
other areas and ignoring the UNVDA project.
The new GM’s managerial acumen
Today, however, the story has changed completely. Go
to the agro industrial complex and you will see a complete transformation of
the place in every sense of the word. Thanks to the managerial acumen of the
new general manager, many more specialized equipment have been acquired from
the ministry of agriculture and rural development.
Hear Chin Richard again: “We now have a combined
harvester for paddy rice transplanting, and rice and maize seed planters. The
paddy rice transplanter is a major innovation in Cameroon. That apart, we are
into a partnership with Ecofarms to develop farms in Bambalang village. A
complex for our finished products is near completion and we have also
rehabilitated our head office in Ndop. We are equally into the process of
planting pillars to secure land under UNVDA management. Another major
innovation is the introduction of upland or rain-fed rice production. We are
also putting in place a digital map of UNVDA to facilitate the proper
management of the agro industry.”
Is this not how a modern and development-seeking
manager works? Is this not the kind of visionary leadership that the president
of the republic has all along been recommending for Cameroonians? If every
Cameroonian in their own area worked with such foresight and determination to
succeed like Chin Richard is doing, would Cameroon still be marking time in the
battle of development? If we were to allot marks to general managers in this
country, would Chin Richard not score an enviable 99.99 percent?
Positive results, incredible
prospects
The results of the outstanding investments that this
agricultural luminary has put in place can only escape the view of the blind.
Within such a short time in office (barely a year), UNVDA rice production has
almost tripled that of 2010, and sales are also witnessing an increasing
demand. Unlike what used to obtain in the past, over 4 000 tons of rice
can now be found at UNVDA at any given time.
True it is that the increased production is not yet
enough to totally reverse importation trends, but there is undoubtedly
effulgent light at the end of the tunnel in this sector. Chin Richard’s words
are once again more explicit: “…the new paddy rice transplanters which is an
innovation in Cameroon will help take farmers from manual to mechanized production
levels. The new acquisition is the government’s response to the cry of farmers
to cultivate larger farm areas for cereals and other crops. The machines will
contribute enormously in efforts to provide domestic rice and corn and reduce
importation. We will now significantly increase the surface area cultivated to
step up tonnage of rice and corn, and why not step up production by about 5.7
tons per hectare.”
Giving UNVDA headquarters a
facelift
The exemplary general manager that Chin Richard is
did not also close his eyes to the dilapidating state of the corporation
buildings. One of the first things he did when he took over was the renovation
of the buildings to give UNVDA headquarters a facelift.
And an undisputed facelift the buildings have truly
had! The walls, pillars and ceilings that were almost giving way are now firmly
in place and new coats of paint are not only visible but also catch the
attention of every passer-by. In fact, driving through Ndop without noticing
the imposing and sparkling UNVDA headquarters building is like driving through
Etoudi in Yaounde without noticing the Unity Palace! Besides, new furniture,
computers and other information and communication technology gadgets have been
installed in the offices, making UNVDA a veritable modern day outfit comparable
to others of world class.
Marketing Ndop rice out of NW
These positive results at short notice have actuated
the indefatigable general manager to think of new ways of marketing the Ndop
rice to its ever-growing customers in and out of the North West region. It did
not take Chin Richard long to set up UNVDA stalls and shops in the two largest
cities in the country, that is, Yaounde and Douala where the foodstuff is sold
at the same price as in Ndop. The general manager’s new plan is to set up
similar UNVDA stores in every other regional headquarters of Cameroon. What a
way of promoting the consumption of locally- produced rice and cutting down on
rice importation! There is no doubt that when President Paul Biya is talking of
modern managers who would take Cameroon out of economic crisis and into Vision
2035, he has in mind the likes of Chin Richard.
Improving workers’ welfare
The urbane and genial Chin Richard knows only too
well that one hand cannot tie a bundle. And that no matter what development
strategies you may come up with, your efforts would be utterly futile if you do
not satisfy the basic needs of your collaborators.
That is why the general manager does all in his
power to keep the workers of UNVDA, no matter what positions they occupy in the
agro industrial complex, comfortable. The Guardian Post has been reliably
informed that unlike what obtained in the past when workers went for months
without salary, UNVDA employees are now paid even before the 25th of
every month.
Chin Richard has also made sure that these workers
are all registered with the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) and has made
it a point of duty to clear all accrued CNPS dues. Level-headed as he is, the
general manager ensures that every worker sees the need to consider themselves
as key staffers of the structure. To him, there is no big or small worker. All
voices that can move UNVDA to higher heights are listened to with rapt
attention.
The result has been a general sense of motivation
and enthusiasm in all the workers. The laxity and indiscipline that used to
characterize them in the past are completely absent today. Rather, the workers
are so motivated that many of them now go to work at 6:30 a.m. instead of the
normal 7:30 a.m.
Testimonies
To better understand what Chin Richard represents to the staff of the
UNVDA, we captured the following testimony from one of the workers who pleaded
to remain anonymous “There is always a melody in my heart when I hear people
talk of Chin Richard Wirnkar or when I talk about him myself. He has brought
sunshine into my life and into the lives of many UNVDA workers. I was here long
before the young man took over the management of UNVDA, so I know what I am
talking about. UNVDA before he took over and UNVDA today are like Africa and
Europe in terms of welfare and innovation. You are here in UNVDA; you are
seeing things for yourself. I am not sure I need to enumerate his many
achievements. Besides, he is one of the most outgoing and generous general
managers I know in all of the grass field region. Explain your problems to him
at any time and your gloomy face will immediately be glowing with joy. In
short, our general manager is someone who does not like to see people around
him suffer. May God reward him for all the good things he is doing for us.”
Concerned about other people’s
plight
The UNVDA boss does not only show concern for the
well-being of his collaborators. His heart undoubtedly bleeds when the people
around him are in distress. For this reason, he could not be indifferent to the
suffering of the victims of the September 9, 2012 Babessi floods in the North
West region. Chin Richard came out like the true child of God that he has
always proved to be and supported them with scores of bags of clean rice as
well as litres of refined oil.
Yet the kind-hearted general manager is not
satisfied with his goodwill gesture. He has promised to make available the
machines of his corporation to those whose farms were destroyed by the floods
with the aim of rehabilitating the farms.
Brilliant educational career
Like we mentioned earlier, it was not for nothing
that the highly-knowledgeable Chin Richard was made general manager of that
very important agro industrial complex. Many superb qualities of his were taken
into consideration, one of which is his admirable academic background.
The man had a brilliant educational record from
primary school to the University of Dschang from where he graduated as an
agronomic engineer. Chin Richard was, in fact, one of the best students of his
batch. Upon graduation, he was awarded a scholarship to study rice cultivation
in China. No wonder therefore that he manages UNVDA with such efficiency.
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