Bamenda: Agric minister lays foundation stone for Rice Value Chain Dev't headquarters.

The ceremony took place on Wednesday, September 3. This was during the 5th Steering Committee Meeting of the RVCDP. 

It was attended by the Governor of the North West Region, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, and the Governor of the West Region, Awa Fonka Augustine. 

Also present were the National Coordinator of the RVCDP, Muluh Grigory, and the Islamic Development Bank’s Field Representative in Cameroon, Mohamadou Awal.

The headquarters will be a five-storey building equipped with offices, a restaurant, a laboratory, farmer’s house, lodging facilities, guest apartments, and other amenities. 

After laying the foundation stone, Minister Mbairobe announced that construction would last 18 months and will cost 1.6 billion FCFA. 

He emphasized that the headquarters would not only change the face of Bamenda, thanks to its strategic location at Up Station in Bamenda I Subdivision, Mezam Division, but also significantly improve the lives of families across the North West, West, and Far North Regions where the project is being implemented.

“It’s a very important project which handles the amelioration of some social services. We’re happy to lay the foundation stone of the headquarters. This is very important because we don’t have many projects with headquarters in the region. So, to have the headquarters of the RVCDP in Bamenda is very important and significant. That’s why we came to personally to lay the foundation stone,” Minister Mbairobe said.

About the RVCDP

Launched in 2024, the RVCDP already benefits multiple localities. In the North West, it covers the Ndop plain in Ngoketunjia Division, the Mbaw/Mbonso plain in Bui and Donga Mantung Divisions, as well as the Bafut/Tingoh valley in Mezam and Menchum Divisions. 

In the West Region, it is operational in Bangourain in Noun Division and Santchou in Menoua Division. 

Meanwhile, in the Far North, the project is assisting farmers in the Maga Basin in Mayo Danay Division.

The RVCDP comes at a time when rice importation in Cameroon continues to rise. In 2019 alone, imports increased by 59.4 percent compared to 2018, with 561,000 tons brought into the country. 

Demand for locally produced rice is on the rise, but production remains grossly insufficient. In response, the government has set a target of producing 750,000 tons of milled rice annually by 2030 under its Rice Development Strategy (2022–2030).

The main objective of the project is to contribute to rice self-sufficiency, economic growth, and improved household incomes, while at the same time supporting private sector participation in the rice value chain. 

Specifically, the RVCDP seeks to increase rice production and productivity through modern farming and post-harvest technologies, improve smallholder farmers’ incomes while reducing poverty and food insecurity, particularly for women and youth, and strengthen institutional capacities for sustainable rice production, processing, and marketing. 

It also aims to create an enabling environment for agricultural enterprises such as processing and milling centers, which will provide competitive rice-based products for the market.

The project is built around seven main components. These include raising rice production and productivity, strengthening links to markets, fostering enabling policies and institutions, rehabilitating and constructing social infrastructure, ensuring effective project management and coordination, carrying out audits, and implementing contingency emergency responses when necessary.

The project seeks to increase national rice production by 10 percent and raise productivity from 4.5 tons per hectare to 6 tons per hectare. 

It is also projected to create 253,000 jobs, with half of them for women and youth, while boosting the average income of small-scale food producers by 20 percent. 

Additionally, the project plans to increase irrigated land for rice cultivation by 7,000 hectares, construct or rehabilitate 600 kilometers of access roads, and build 58 warehouses with a combined storage capacity of 3,212 tons.

To achieve these outcomes, the project has set several measurable outputs. These include training 210,000 farmers in rice value chain and cooperative management, and providing training to 50 key stakeholders.

The project directly targets lowland and irrigated rice-producing populations of the North West, West, and Far North Regions. About 160,000 smallholder farmers, at least half of whom are women, are expected to benefit directly. 

These farmers are organized into cooperatives, producer organizations, and professional networks. Indirect beneficiaries include government ministries, private sector actors, and technical partners such as IRAD, AfricaRice, and regional delegations of agriculture and rural development.

The RVCDP is supported by several financial partners. The Islamic Development Bank, IsDB is providing 79.4 million euros, BADEA 17.6 million euros, the OPEC Fund 22 million euros, the Kuwait Fund 17.6 million euros, the Saudi Fund 18.5 million euros, and the Abu Dhabi Fund 27.7 million euros. 

The government is contributing 12.7 million euros, bringing the total project financing to over 122.6 billion FCFA.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3555 of Friday September 05, 2025