Agriculture and rural development
minister, Essimi Menye Lazare has congratulated the general manager and staff
of the Upper Nun Development Authority, the UNVDA, for what he has termed great
strides in rice production in Ndop; in the North West region.
Essimi Menye who was in Ndop last
Thursday to launch the 2013 farming season took time off to visit the UNVDA
headquarters and its installations. On hand to receive the agriculture minister
was emblematic UNVDA general manager, Chin Richard Wirnkar who was accompanied
by the corporation’s top management and junior staff. For his part, Minister
Essimi Menye was accompanied by a powerful delegation from his ministry
including the minister delegate, Ananga Messina. Despite their busy schedule,
the minister and his delegation still squeeze time to visit the innovations
that are being carried out by the current UNVDA management.
As Essimi Menye was led round UNVDA
by the general manager, the minister could be seen nodding in appreciation the
good works of the new UNVDA management.
After the visit of UNVDA, Minister
Essimi Menye while filling the visitor’s book captured his appreciation of what
he saw in the following words “Producing rice is a challenge Cameroonians are
facing. I was very pleased with what I just witnessed here in Ndop. I want
therefore to congratulate the GM of UNVDA and his team for the work done so far
and encourage them to stay the course”.
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 a short time in office, 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 are 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.”
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.
Chin Richard: The Award winning GM
It was
apparently on account of the above that Cameroonians unanimously voted UNVDA;
thanks to Chin Richard as The Guardian Post 2012 Development Award winner.
About UNVDA
The Upper Nun Valley Development Authority (UNVDA) is a Development
Corporation created in 1970 as a Mission by Presidential Degree NO 70/DF/529 of October 29,1970 and later
transformed into a Development Authority by another Presidential Degree NO
78/157 OF May 11, 1978. Its present statutory area of intervention touches five
Divisions of the North West and west regions of Cameroon namely:Mezam,Ngoketunjia
and Bui in the North West; and Noun and Bamboutos in the West Regions.
General objectives
To reduce poverty amongst the
inhabitants of its area of intervention, To contribute to food security
in the area in particular and the country in general, To increase agricultural
production and productivity in the area and To facilitate the processing and
marketing of farmers’ produce.
Strategic objectives
To facilitate access to rural infrastructure for the farmers of the area,
.To ensure the sustainable management of the natural resources of the area and To
facilitate the organisation of the farmers in to professional groups.
Target population
The total population of UNVDA’s area of intervention stands at about
450.000 inhabitants. Close to 90% of this population are farmers, some 8,000 of
whom constituted our direct contact group for the 2006/2007 cropping season.
Within the framework of our five-year plan for the period from january2008 top
December 2013, our target is to raise the size of this farmer population to at
least 70,000.
Increasing rice
production and productivity in the area
Organizing the farmers into
professional groups
·
Sensitization
of farmers: At UNVDA, we believe that the most sustainable farmers’
groups freely created by the farmers themselves. What we do is create awareness
of the benefits of effort pooling. The result of this activity is the existence
of 257 common initiative and economic interest groups of rice farmers in the
area. We are presently sensitizing them on the need to transform the groups
into unions and subsequently federations.
·
Capacity-building in group management: The aim
of this activity is to provide the farmers with the necessary skills for the
running of the affairs of the groups and apex organizations which are being
created following our sensitization campaigns. We therefore train the farmers
on group management skills, communication skills, astute negotiation, lobbying
and advocacy techniques, just to name a few.
·
Organisation of exchange visits: We assist our
contact farmers in the organisation of exchange visits between their groups and
other groups. This is intended to facilitate experience sharing from which the
farmers could draw useful inputs to improve the organisation of their groups.
Facilitating the
processing and marketing of farmers’ produce
With the help of its hulling unit
which has a capacity of 3.5 tonnes/hr, UNVDA assist rice farmers by processing
and marketing thousands of tons of their paddy every year.Between 1986 and
2003, the corporation processed over 30.000 tonnes of farmers’ paddy giving an
average of about 1.500 tonnes per annum. Farmers’ produce shall be purchased by
the project.
Ensuring sustainable
management of natural resources
·
Sensitization on sustainable land use systems:
In order to halt environmental degradation caused by crop production and
grazing activities in the area, we organize sensitization and concertation
forums on sustainable harnessing and
preservation of land resources.
·
Pasture improvement:This activity aims at
reducing the conflict that occur between crop producers and graziers who come
into the area on transhumance every year. We are presently sourcing for funding
for this activity, which of cattle drinking points and the training of graziers
on improved pasture management.
·
Aforestation/reforestation: this activity is an
attempt by UNVDA to reverse the effects of deforestation caused during the
development of paddy fields and other infrastructure in the area (such as the
Bamendjin dam).
Perspectives
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United
Nations estimates that Camùeroon imports over 300,000 tonnes of clean rice per
annum, despite the enormous potentials for the production of the crop in the
country. Trial results have shown that in many parts of the country, paddy
yields can reach 8 to 10 tonnes per hectare, with the possibility of growing
more than one crop annually in some areas.
UNVDA carried out its activities smoothly in view of helping
farmers to harness these potentials until the economic crises stroke the
country in the late 1980’s. By 1988, the corporation was earmarked for
liquidation and has since then functioned with difficulties due to inadequate
funding for over twenty years.
Considering the important role it plays in the development
of the area and in the promotion of rice production, the state reconsidered its
decision and enlisted UNVDA with other State Corporations for rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation exercise is ongoing since 2009.
The area of intervention of the New UNVDA would be extended
to other areas of the southern part of Cameroon so as to increase the number of
beneficiaries and substantially boost the country’s rice production. We have
envisaged the development of 20,000 hectares of paddy fields for some 70,000
smallholder farmers and 100,000 hectares for mechanized rice production, the
objective being to increase annual paddy production to about 500,000 tonnes in
ten years. The commercial department took off in full swing with a sales outlet
in Bonaberi-Douala, others will follow suit.
FUNDING
Present Funding Sources
At the moment, UNVDA
relies mainly on government subventions and internally generated funds to
sponsor its activities. Our main internal funding sources include the hiring
out of equipment and sales of clean rice and rice by-products.
Prospective Funding Sources
One of the main
strategies for the revival of the activities of UNVDA is the building of
sustainable partnership with Non Governmental Organizations and funding
institutions. Possible areas that may be of interest to funding partners and
other actors are: Natural resources
management, Irrigation management, including
the construction and maintenance of irrigation and drainage infrastructure,
construction and maintenance of farm-to-market roads, Seed multiplication
and Support to farmers’ organisations.
Direct involvement in rice production as is
the case of EcoFarms which is presently developing 150 hectares for rice
production in collaboration with UNVDA.
No comments:
Post a Comment