Yaounde: TAAT, IRAD train stakeholders on best practices in certified rice seeds production.

This was on May 15 during a workshop, which took place at the head office of IRAD in Yaounde. It brought together participants from Common Initiative Groups, CIGs, seed cooperatives supported by development projects and the state body, Upper Noun Valley Development Authority, UNVDA.  The participants came from agro-ecological zones III and IV (West, North West and Centre regions). 

It had as main objective to develop the technical skills of the seed producers who will benefit from the basic seeds on the technical itinerary and good agricultural practices within the framework of certified rice seed production. 

Its objectives was to strengthen the technical capacities of participants for better mastery of the technical itinerary for certified seed production and rice production in general; provide the keys to identifying off-types for quality seed production; develop participants' skills in good harvesting practices and post-harvest operations; develop participants' skills in the proper use and management of pesticides; and provide producers with knowledge of good practice in water management in rice growing.

Other specific objectives included to strengthen participants' knowledge of seed legislation in Cameroon; train rice seed producers in good rice production practices, provide producers with 2,420 kg of basic seeds, establish links between seed producers and rice producers to encourage the development of the seed value chain and discuss how IRAD and the beneficiaries will implement the activity to ensure that seed production is geared towards achieving the objectives.

As a result of the training, the trained participants will in turn have to train the other members of their CIGs and cooperatives so that they acquire useful technical skills to carry out their activities. 

Through the training workshop, the TAAT project aims to reach thousands of direct and indirect beneficiaries of the seeds, in order to ensure household food and nutritional security, generate income and contribute to the sustainable development of small-scale rice producers in Cameroon.

Efforts to change imbalance between rice supply, demand 

Dr Francis Ngome, Deputy Director General of IRAD, while opening the workshop on behalf of IRAD Director General, Dr Noe Woin, said Cameroon, like most countries in West and Central Africa, is facing a major imbalance between supply and demand for rice.

“This gap means that we have to import milled rice, which has a negative impact on our country's balance of trade,” he said.

He said some of the factors contributing to low local rice production include the low productivity of cultivated varieties (average yield of around 2.3 t/ha in Cameroon, compared with 4.8 t/ha worldwide), the effects of climate change (irregular rainfall, frequent droughts), and poor cultivation practices (low technical skills among producers).

He told the participants that their attending the training workshop is a step toward towards finding solutions to the challenges observed in the rice value chain. 

“The knowledge you will acquire will enable you to use best agricultural practices for quality certified rice seeds production in the different ecologies,” he stated.

On his part, Dr Christopher Suh, the TAAT programme regional coordinator for the Central African region, affirmed that productivity of rice in Cameroon is low. 

“Our farmers are producing just about two tons per hectare. Meanwhile, the African average is already around 4.5 tons per hectare. So this workshop aims to strengthen the capacity of our farmers so that they can double productivity and take us to at least four tons per hectare,” he noted.

“This training is to improve the capacity of farmers, teach them new technologies, and teach them good agricultural practices so that they can inculcate it in their activities, because without good agricultural practices, using the appropriate seeds and inputs, farmers cannot double their productivity,” Dr Suh said.

During the workshop a huge consignment of certified rice seeds were handed to the stakeholders. The participants thanked TAAT and IRAD, stating that the knowledge gain and certified rice seeds received will go a long way to boost their productivity. 

A participant, Ntosongue Linus, President of Rice Millers Union of Ndop, said “through this training and information we will spread to our members, we will be sure of having good seeds that will grow into healthy, high-quality rice crops”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3452 of Thursday May 22, 2025