(Business in Cameroon) - The Ferme Agro-Pastorale de Ma’an Menyi (Fapam Industry) in Mbalmayo, in the Central region, received a few days ago specialised equipment for secondary and tertiary cocoa processing (cocoa butter and powder respectively), from the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Land Development (Minepat).

This direct support worth FCfa 600 million, according to Minepat, will ultimately help in building the production capacities of Fapam Industry’s processing plant from 500 kg/h to 6,000 kg/h, but also in creating over 600 direct jobs and close to 2,000 indirect jobs. According to Anatole Nkodo Ze, owner of Fapam Industry, with the installation of new infrastructure whose commissioning is scheduled to take place in 2017, this is a specific answer to the preoccupations of the government to produced 600,000 tons of cocoa by 2020.

Fapam Industry also received a loan agreement from Afreximbank. This is a credit in two lines including one for the purchase of equipment worth FCfa 11,152 billion refundable over 5 years and a revolving line for the purchase of cocoa beans of FCfa 2 to 50 billion per year for 5 years, depending on the needs.

S.A