It gains access through the Institut de Recherche Agricole Development (IRAD).
Cameroon will now sit on the Board of Directors of the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and in Eastern and Southern Africa (ASARECA). This admission was made through through the Institut de recherche agricole pour le développement (IRAD), heade by Dr Noé Woin. It was during the Ministerial Conference on Agriculture organized by the Association from May 17 to 19, 2023, at the Speke Resort in the Ugandan capital Kampala. The theme which underpinned the conference’s work is: “Building resilient food systems to feed Africa for generations”.
IRAD’s rise to this position is a real boon for Cameroon’s youth. It opens many doors to training, technology transfer and innovation between partner countries. The same applies to national agro ecological zones, which will benefit from numerous agricultural projects focusing on resilience and sustainability. The Ministerial Conference on Agriculture was, however, a springboard for IRAD to showcase its knowledge and know-how. The Institute took the opportunity to showcase the fruits of its agricultural expertise. These included IRAD’s 100% arabica and organic coffee, cocoa-based food products (Nib’s, caramel and butter), Artemisia (a plant renowned for its role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and malaria), Pop rice and various cookies made from local flours (rice, corn, sweet banana, cassava, etc.).
The ASARECA Ministerial Conference on Agriculture is a biannual platform comprising the ASARECA General Assembly, the meeting of the Council of Patron Ministers (CPM) and the Scientific Conference. All these bodies work together to fulfill ASARECA’s mission, which is to contribute to improving the productivity, commercialization and competitiveness of the agricultural sector in its member countries, by strengthening, catalyzing and coordinating agricultural research for development in the subregion.
Over the course of these three meetings, work revolved around five main objectives. These were: 1) Review ASARECA’s strategies, priorities and research programs, and identify regional priorities for agricultural research and innovation; 2) Discuss the mechanism for building resilient food systems, and identify concrete joint actions for implementation; 3) Identify a resource mobilization mechanism to support the coordinated implementation of joint actions aimed at creating resilient food systems in the sub-regions; 4) Approve the admission of new cores to the association; 5) Present the excellence of research for development in Central and Eastern Africa.
The President of the Platform for the Promotion of Local Flour in Cameroon (PROFALCAM) took part in the conference activities. He was there in his capacity as Secretary of the association’s Business Committee. And according to George Mbanda, agriculture in Africa is turning a corner, thanks to the research being carried out. They believe, however, that Central Africa needs to get even more involved.
ASARECA is a sub-regional intergovernmental organization of National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) with 14 member states: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Member states have mandated ASARECA to coordinate and bring together human, physical, financial and institutional capital at regional level to implement agricultural research for development initiatives in East and Central Africa (ECA).