(Business in Cameroon) - Since 2012 when the New Generation Program of the Cocoa and Coffee Inter-Professional Council (CICC) was launched, the Cameroonian youth trained under the scheme have succeeded in setting 1533 ha of cocoa across the national territory, we learnt.

The program has trained over 1500 youths out of which about 500 successfully completed the 3-year training. Thanks to the use of improved seedlings, these plantations already contribute significantly to the country’s output.

Once they finish the training, the youth who commit to set at least 3 ha of cocoa receive necessary support and equipment from CICC to become agricultural entrepreneurs, specialized in cocoa production.

The New Generation Program, it should be noted, aims at rejuvenating the cocoa-coffee sector’s work force. It was created following a survey which revealed that cocoa producers were aged 60 on average.

BRM