(Business in Cameroon) - It was on a tractor tour of a farm in Lélem, not far from Mélong, on the very fertile volcanic earth in the seaside area of Moungo that Cameroonian Minister of Agriculture, Essimi Menyé, just launched the 2014 agricultural year. He stressed that this year would be devoted to increasing national production.

To do this, Minister Essimi Menyéake urged better structuring of producers through the creation of cooperatives. As if to demonstrate the benefits of being in a cooperative, the Minister donated two tractors, two bikes and two SUVs to a local cooperative as well as tonnes of agricultural materials.

Beyond the official 2014 agricultural launch, the event was also an opportunity for the government to announce the creation of centres of excellence for coffee, cocoa and palm oil in some farming areas.

Essimi Menyéake also invited farmers from Moungo and Cameroon to take-up the cultivation of a number of crops that have strategic importance due to their potential for being processed into other goods. Minister Menyéake cited the example of cassava which he described as “tomorrow’s cocoa”.