(Business in Cameroon) - The Regional Representative for Agriculture in the South, Ferdinand Ella Ella, has just received 30 tonnes of hybrid corn seeds from the Ministry of Agriculture which are to be distributed to 1,219 farmers of this region in Cameroon.

According to the administrative head, the improved seeds will enable the production of 45,000 tonnes of corn in the four departments of the South region by July 2014.

In the last five years, the Cameroonian government has invested close to 60 billion FCfa in improved seeds in order to boost corn production which is estimated at 1.8 million tonnes against a national demand of 2 million tonnes.

However, according to authorised sources, the production deficit of 200,000 tonnes could be fixed this year. Indeed, the 35 fields across the country should produce around 900 tonnes of improved corn seed as of January 2014 with a production capacity of approximately 10 kg per acre.

According to our sources, if all the seeds produced by public and private entities were to be made available to farmers and used effectively, the country should produce over 2 million tonnes of corn this year.