(Business in Cameroon) - The Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), an arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has just signed a €100 million (CFA65.5 billion) loan agreement with Cameroon’s government, official sources revealed.

These funds will allow  Cameroon’s cotton company (Société de développement du Coton-Sodecoton), the para-public agro-industrial firm which collaborates with more than 250,000 cotton farmers in the northern region, to buy farm inputs which  it will supply these farmers, and also purchase cotton from them during the 2017-2018 campaign.

This year, IDB’s financial support is higher than in the past, because Cameroon was able to convince the funder to increase its traditional financing from €20 million (CFA13 billion) to €100 million (more than CFA65 billion) for the actual season.

Comforted by this increase, the expected financing from the government, and its own funds, SODECOTON aims to produce 260,000 tons of cottonseed during the 2017-2018 campaign. This was revealed by sources within the company.

This forecast exceeds the 240,200 tons produced during the previous campaign and should allow the three northern regions which are the country’s cotton-producing hubs to generate a turnover of CFA140 billion, up by CFA20 billion compared to the previous campaign.

Brice R. Mbodiam