(Business in Cameroon) - According to internal sources at the Ministry of Economy, the emergency plan evaluated by the Cameroonian government’s last cabinet meeting (photo) on April 21, 2014, which is awaiting approval by the Head of State before implementation, involves a total of 343 billion FCfa. The emergency plan, which aims to have Cameroon’s growth rate rise to 6% in 2014 instead of the initially projected 4.8%, provides for infrastructure-oriented investment totalling 26 billion FCfa.

Similarly, it is stipulated that, among the 98,000 companies registered in Cameroon by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), the government will encourage the creation of two jobs per company through tax and customs incentives to create at least 200,000 new jobs this year.

According to sources, the programme’s backbone is increased investment in agriculture which employs 70% of the nation’s active population. The government’s emergency plan includes growth in rice production (currently 100,000 tonnes) which is certainly the country’s most popular staple, but imported to make-up the 200,000-tonne shortfall, is estimated to be approximately 120 billion FCfa each year. It is also a matter of boosting fish production as well as that of corn and soya – two sectors to be developed by way of the “the Agricultural Market Investment Project (PIDMA)” recently financed by the World Bank to the tune of 50 billion FCfa

The government also hopes to increase cement production to meet national demand which is projected to reach 8 million tonnes per annum with major projects on the way. This hope certainly lies in the launch, announced in March 2014, of the Nigerian billionaire’s Dangote Cement factory which should add 500,000 tonnes to the market in addition to the Lafarge subsidiary, Cimencam’s 1.2 million tonnes and Cimaf’s 500,000 tonnes whose factory started production in February of this year.