Strengthening financial, food security in SW: SOWEDA offers over 14,000 white pepper seedlings to farmers in Tombel.

The donation is part of SOWEDA’s drive to enable white pepper farmers in the region to expand their farms and create new ones with this special high yielding variety. 

Teba Abel, the Sub-director of crop production in SOWEDA, said the donation was a fulfilment of the institution’s mission to develop farmers and improve their livelihood, both in infrastructure and agriculture because more than 70 percent of the population depend on agriculture, which they put so much emphasises on it.

He added that SOWEDA had embarked on producing quality planting materials, because they are an important ingredient in agricultural development, because good seeds ensure good yields. 

The donations come after months of trainings: introduction of the white pepper into the region, processing white pepper and planting techniques to ensure the farmers have every skills and knowledge needed to grow the plant.

The focus on white pepper, Teba added, was to explore the production of such a lucrative crop that is produced in a neighbouring region. 

“…we share the same agricultural zone with the Littoral where there this white pepper that is doing well. We thought that if we introduced this white pepper in the South West Region, it would go a long way to improve the livelihood of the farmers. A kilogramme of white pepper is not less than 10,000 FCFA, which is more than a kilogramme of the popular coconut we have in our region,” he said.

Given the prices of cocoa, the principle cash crop for most farmers in the region, introducing white pepper, he said, was to help farmers make more money from their effort. 

“If we improve, we strengthen the capacity of our farmers with all the needed potentials; they will be able to have this alternative source of income, which will improve their livelihood,” Teba stated.

He noted that Tombel was the pacesetter in the region in receiving the high-yielding white pepper seedlings that have a high value in the world market and adaptable to the environment. 

In this light, he said the government and the management of SOWEDA, have high expectations of the beneficiaries to produce quality products.

On his part, the Divisional Officer of Tombel Subdivision, Nyam Leonard, expressed the joy of his people to discover that they had such untapped wealth in their Subdivision.

He also saluted SOWEDA for making them to realise the rich potential of their soil, which can produce white pepper that is unique in the whole world, with the capacity of transforming and conserving food for a longer period. 

Addressing the farmers, Nyam said the trainings they have received and the seedling was a wake-up call for them to demonstrate to the world that Tombel Subdivision can be trusted with such potential. 

“The farmers receiving this product today should make the General Manager of SOWEDA proud by multiplying the efforts, by multiplying the production on the ground, and that of course would transform not only their financial resources, but will transform our wellbeing because the world has a label that is Cameroonian,” he added.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3572 of Monday September 22, 2025