As roadmap talks advance: IRAD pushes national agroecology legal framework.

On November 14, the three institutions convened a high-level consultation meeting in Yaounde to establish a consensual roadmap for the ambitious project, which seeks to strengthen food security, support farmers, and protect the environment. 

The session brought together public administrations, civil-society groups, farmers’ organisations and NGOs, to examine the preliminary draft of the national agroecology roadmap and outline next steps for recruiting a consultant to formalise the document.

The meeting formed part of the Agroecology Network for the promotion of the Sustainability of Food Systems in West and Central Africa, known by its French acronym, RADiUS, financed by the European Union and coordinated by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development, CORAF.

Within this framework, IRAD, led by its Director General, Dr Noé Woin, is conducting producer training, promoting agroecological innovations and preparing the groundwork for a national policy pathway. 

Organisers explained that the Yaounde session aimed to establish the methodological, organisational and strategic basis for finalising the roadmap, including the national context, priority challenges and planned actions. 

Participants reviewed mechanisms for institutional governance and agreed on the timeline and validation procedures expected to guide the full drafting process.

The opening statement was delivered by the Director of Professional Agricultural Organisations and Farm Support at MINADER, Simon Alain Messi, who noted the session’s role in aligning stakeholder input around a shared framework for a resilient and inclusive food system anchored in agroecological principles.

During the meeting, delegates scrutinised the draft roadmap prepared jointly by MINADER, RADiUS and SAILD, before turning to the draft terms of reference for selecting a consultant responsible for producing the final version of the document. 

The discussions also allowed participants to propose technical adjustments and recommendations to refine both the roadmap structure and the consultant’s mandate.

RADiUS Cameroon focal point, Dr Eunice Ndo, who is also head of IRAD Mbalmayo, thanked IRAD’s Director General and financial and technical partners for their support, emphasising that the platform remains open to all actors contributing to the development of a legal and regulatory framework for agroecology.

The initiative comes shortly after the submission to Parliament, on November 10, of a draft law governing the production of organic food in Cameroon. 

According to project officials, this legislative process is expected to create a formal environment for regulating organic food production for human and animal consumption.

It emerged from the meeting that the process forms part of broader efforts to strengthen sustainable production systems and support the country’s transition towards regulated organic and agroecological practices.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3636 of Tuesday November 25, 2025