(Business in Cameroon) - The Youth farming entrepreneurship promotion program Pea-Jeune, a government initiative supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD, has shown “satisfactory results” in the first eight months of implementation, an optimistic Minister of Livestock, Dr. Taiga, said.

Since February 12, 2015, when the program was launched, it has helped create jobs for 14,308 young people in agricultural and pastoral sectors across the country, benefiting 41,308 households directly. Ideally, the target was to reach 50,400 households, the official said. "The youth have become more involved in agropastoral activities, one of the important priorities of the National Development Strategy (NDS 30). We hope this new momentum will boost productivity in the sector," said Dr. Taiga. In detail, we learned, Pea-Jeunes has financed 3,482 young agripreneurs aged 18 to 35 and facilitated access to financing for 1,542 others. More than 4,500 agropastoral initiative holders were also incubated during the implementation period. The program has released in terms of financial and non-financial support a total amount of CFA10.98 billion, according to official stats.

Pea-Jeune aims to support youth-led agricultural businesses. The objective is to contribute to the development of successful agriculture, fight against rural poverty and improve food security across the country.