(Business in Cameroon) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) has made CFA42 billion available to Cameroon to support the country’s crop and grain production. The money will be provided through the CFA927.5 billion facility approved by the institution to help African countries withstand the negative impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"The AfDB investment will help Cameroon produce 221,449 tons of maize, 172,000 tons of rice, 9,750 tons of sorghum, 24,000 tons of potatoes, 45,000 tons of palm oil, 4,000 tons of soybeans, (and) 120,000 tons of additional vegetable crops (tomatoes, in particular)," the Bank said in a July 15 statement.

As part of this facility, the AfDB will provide smallholder farmers with certified seeds.  In Cameroon, a total of 1,720 tons of rice seeds, 2,500 tons of maize seeds, 130 tons of sorghum seeds, 2,400 tons of potato seeds, 1.12 million pre-germinated oil palm seeds, 132 tons of soybean seeds, 4 tons of tomato seeds and 67 tons of wheat seeds will be distributed to small-scale producers. They will also receive NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and urea fertilizers at 30% subsidized prices.

The African Emergency Food Production Facility was decided by the AfDB Board on May 20, 2022, to avoid an imported food crisis for African states. Overall, this mechanism aims to provide agricultural seeds to 20 million producers on the continent to enable them to rapidly produce 38 million tons of food over the next two years.

BRM