(Business in Cameroon) - On December 5, 2019, Cameroon, through the ministry of agriculture and rural development (Minader) issued a call for expression of interest for local and foreign investors wishing to exploit agricultural land developed for rice production in the department of Logone et Chari, in the Far North.

The project will be carried out on an area of more than 10,000 hectares, out of the 13,102 hectares developed for this purpose in the districts of Zina (6521 ha), Makary (411 ha), Logone Birni (970 ha). In the area of Mara, Goulfey, Moulouang, Hilél and Goulfey Gana, the project will cover 2,200 ha.

Through this project, the Cameroonian government wants to increase rice production in the northern part of the country, which rarely exceeds the 100,000 tonnes produced by the Société d'expansion et de modernisation de la riziculture de Yagoua (Semry).

This call for expression of interest comes amid Cameroon’s crusade against massive food imports that greatly affect the country’s trade balance.
One of the food products massively imported by the country is rice, which cost the country XAF508.5 billion between 2015 and 2017, according to figures published by the ministry of commerce.

By way of comparison, the value of rice imports during the period specified is 1/3 of Cameroon's 2020 public investment budget.

Brice R. Mbodiam