French firm, I-TEK, earmarks five billion FCFA to boost local pig farming.

Standing as front liner in pig farming advocacy in different parts of the world, off, I-Tek also specialises in the provision of equipment for the production of different species of the animal. 

At the same time, management revealed that their collaborators in the country include, the Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock, and Forests of Cameroon, CAPEF.

The management of I-TEK was categoric by stating that CAPEF will act as project supervisor in the country, with completion date for the entire project fixed for not later than the end of 2026.

The officials also announced that the pilot phase is set to begin this September; with the town of Bankim in the Adamawa Region, selected as premier host. 

However, management warned that more funding still needs to be sourced, to make up for the total sum earmarked, so as to guarantee satisfactory execution of the project.

The President of CAPEF, Martin Paul Mindjos Momeny, dismissed all fears as to getting funds to carry the project to term, giving assurance that the government of Cameroonian, through the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries, and Animal Industries, MINEPIA, along with CAPEF´s partners, are prepared to make sure finance does not hold back the project. 

The official disclosing that the project will also benefit from the support and expertise of Axiom, a French company specialising in genetics. 

An assertion was further reiterated by Sylvain Ze Meke, Coordinator of the Consular Project for Pig Farming Development in Cameroon, PROPORC, initiated by CAPEF in 2022.

Meanwhile, stakeholders and professionals in the pig farming industry say Cameroon produces approximately 30,000 tons of pork annually, while the demand is around 50,000 tons, resulting in a yearly deficit of some 20,000 tonnes. 

The Project for the Improvement of Agricultural Competitiveness, PACA, estimates that the national pig farming market is worth some 55 billion FCFA.

The French company specialises in providing solutions in highly technical disciplines, supports building projects and has developed a new service that offers innovative, high-performance and sustainable solutions in specific areas of economic and technological development. 

The group has the ultimate goal to improve the sustainability and profitability of livestock ventures so that they can navigate through the multiple challenges of the future.

Presently, I-TEK Solutions is branching further out, and is using its expertise to design offices. 

Its team is made up of technicians and field officers, a tailor-made service to study and optimise buildings or design such to be used in projects in raising pigs, poultry, cattle and horse breeding.

Above all, the company prides itself as exemplary in transparent management. “We offer clear and legible service for the breeder. We have a single objective, the performance of the farm by choosing “the best” at each level of building construction and project prospection,” management emphasised. 

The story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No: 3145 of Friday June 21, 2024