CARD GENERAL MEETING Tokyo, 3th-4th of JUNE 2009 --------- Presentation of the National Strategy for the Developpemen

1. CARD GENERAL MEETING Tokyo, 3th-4th of JUNE 2009 --------- Presentation of the National Strategy for the Developpement of Rice in Cameroon Tobie ONDOA MANGA Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cameroon

2. Plan of the expose • 1- Summary • 2- Introduction • 3- Review of the national rice sector • 4 Chalenges and opportunities of the rice sector • 5- priority domains and approch • 6- Elaboration process, Vision & scope of NRDS • 7- Strategies by sub sector • 8- Finances • 9- Conclusion

3. I. SUMMARY • The market of rice in Cameroon is experiencing full growth. (4% per annum approximately) • This product accounts for approximately 20% of the total food imports. • The cultivation of rice has not ceased dropping since the mid Eighties because of several constraints: (i) the difficulty of access to the improved inputs (seeds, fertilizers and pesticides); (iii) the poor organization of the producers;(iv) high post-harvests losses;(v) outdatedness or the low outputs of the equipment for hulling;(vi) the poor financings of agricultural activities and (vii) the enclavement of the principal production zones • NRDS/Cameroun aims at the improvement of the productivity and the competitiveness of local rice by: (i) the support for the acquisition of the agricultural inputs; (ii)development of new irrigable zones and the rehabilitation of the agricultural infrastructures and equipment around the perimeters of zones producing rice on a large scale; (iii) support for the structuring and the professionalisation of the producers and (iv) the support in the transformation and marketing of rice. • The objective is to move from 65 000 T in 2008 to 627 250 T in 2018.

4. II. INTRODUCTION • The world food crisis was expressed by social movements in Cameroon during the first quarter of the year 2008. • Also, the government recommended a special program to urgently revive the production of the food crops including rice. • The NRDS was elaborated in response to this instruction. It is also registered within the framework of the Coalition for the development of rice growing in Africa (CARD). • The rice consumption in Cameroon stands at 37,3 kg/hd/yr in urban areas and 19,4 kg/hd/yr in rural areas with a national average of 25,7 kg/hd/yr. • The national production stagnates today stands at 65 000 T for a demand of 475 000 T and which increases by 4% per annum. • the NRDS intends to put together the efforts of the various partners with the view of increasing in a substantial way the national production of rice. • It is based primarily on the pre-feasibility study of a program for the support to the development of rice growing carried out in 2004 and brought up to date in 2008.

5. III. REVIEW OF THE RICE SECTOR Several rural development policies have been put in place according to the economic situations * Five year development plans Between 1970 and 1990, to counter problems of food insecurity, State support for irrigated rice farming (17 000 ha developed and managed by state corporations). * The SAP with the disengagement of the State saw a collapse of the production of rice due to lack of support for the corporations * Today: the production of rice can satisfy only approximately 20% domestic demand because: • Outdatedness of the infrastructures in the old developed perimeters • Localization of the three principal structures of production, far from great urban centres (Yaounde and Douala) and close to the frontier markets (Nigeria, Chad, RCA); • Consumer's choice for rice imported and better flavoured; Of an insufficient support of other types of rice farming at low production costs.

6. REVIEW OF THE RICE SECTOR(contd) The strategy of development of the rural sector revolves around four axes: • the modernization of the apparatus of production; • the reorganization of the institutional framework; • the putting in place of an inciting environment and • the durable management of the natural resources . Its implementation, suffers from an insufficiency of resources. The cereal imports witness an increase of 4% per annum because of the evolution of the feeding practices over the last years.

7. REVIEW OF THE RICE SECTOR(contd) Types of actors of the sector Researchers: employ themselves in the generation of knowledge and technologies and their experimentation, the training of the actors of development, the development of teaching supports and the production of pre-base seeds. Multipliers of seeds: active in a contractual way around the perimeters farms of development corporations, Suppliers of equipment: generally local craftsmen having average logistics to satisfy the local requests. Also, certain producers prefer to resort to service providers for the operations of ploughing, harvesting and hulling. The rice growers around the perimeters of corporations have access to land through the payment of a royalty and fertilizers to tradesmen. Some are obliged to contract appropriations of inputs which they pay back in kind at a rate of 3 to 4 bags of paddy for a bag of fertilizer The majority of the producers in these perimeters exploit parcels of an average size of a half to a quarter of hectare.

8. III. REVIEW OF THE RICE SECTOR(contd) Corporations own land which they put at the disposal of the rice growers against payment of rights of exploitation. Transformers and tradesmen: the private ones exist since 1990, their functions in the past were carried out by the farming companies. The transformation is done with small de-hullers or with the wood mortar. Tradesmen: the producers sell their rice in the form of paddy or hulled. More and more, they have recourse to their local organizations if they exist; this confers on them a better ability to negotiation with producers. Question of the type of production, the transformation and marketing: Rice production concerns both the men as well as the women because it requires much labour. The retail sale of the milled rice is ensured by women in the rural and urban markets whereas the sale of paddy out of bags is carried by the men who are heads of households.

9. IV. Challenges/issues • During 10 last years, rice imports have passed from 175.000 T in 1998 to more than 400 000 T in 2008. • In the irrigated perimeters the passion for rice growing is such that households are with left with small surfaces. • in rain-fed rice growing areas, the land constraints are less significant because of the availability of cultivable lands. These are evaluated at 7,2 million hectares of which arable land is only 26% and just 17% of the irrigable grounds are cultivated. • The internal production in the areas far away from the urban centers is mainly absorbed by the neighbouring countries. • About ¾ of imported rice is intended for the consumption of the towns of Douala and Yaounde. • Past lessons impose, the promotion of a diversified, highly productive and competitive rice farming, in various agro-ecological zones. • The human and institutional capacities capable to support the development of rice growing are available but need to be reinforced (research, popularization, tally legislative and lawful…)

10. SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SNDR ON THE RICE SECTOR IN CAMEROON

11. V. PRIORITY AREAS AND APPROACH The rice cultivation is practiced in almost all the regions of Cameroon. • It is irrigated in the Extreme North and the North-West regions, • In the rest of the country on the alluvial plains and the valleys; banks of the many rivers, mangroves zones and uplands. The potentials of output in irrigated rice farming exceed the 8 tons per hectare. For rain-fed cultivation, outputs of 5 tons to the hectare are obtained particularly in flooded valleys .

12. PRIORITY AREAS AND APPROACH (contd) Identification of institutional and political challenges and opportunities • Within the framework of the emergency plan of revival of the agricultural and food production the State proposed : • (i) to facilitate the access of the producers to the agricultural inputs; • (ii) to support at 100% production of planting material of quality for strategic crops like rice; • (iii) to support for a total value of 25 to 50% the price of fertilizers and pesticides; • (iv) to facilitate the access to mechanization by the price subsidy of various services and that of the prices of acquisition of small farm equipment; • (v) to facilitate the access to the credit by bonification of interest rates; • (vi) to facilitate the access to the markets through the support in the development of infrastructures of disenclavement of the production zones and provision of storage and transformation facilities and • (vii) to facilitate the access to the agricultural services of common interest, in particular training .

13. VI. VISION AND SCOPE OF THE STRATEGY the SNDR initiated by the State since 2008, was discussed in February 2009 with the actors of the rice sector, after the support of CARD to its formulation. and presented on April 7 2009 to the Technical and Financial Partners of the rural sector with a favorable reception. It proposes to reduce gradually and to eliminate rice imports by the improvement of the production and the competitiveness of local rice. To this end, it aims: (i) production on a large scale of the certified rice seeds by the private sector and of the seeds controlled by the peasants through the Community seed systems; (ii) the modernization of the apparatus of production through light mechanization and the efficient use of the inputs; (iii) the organization of the sector through the promotion of the organizations of producers and the installation of multi-actors and multi-institutional platforms; (iv) the durable management of the water resources and land through good farming methods; (v) the cover the national needs and in the long term the conquer regional markets (vi) the promotion of employment in rural areas in particular for the women and the young people. Long-term strategies: the price objective is the drop in the marketing and production costs in order to make local rice competitive compared to the imported rice in the great centers of consumption. As for marketing, stress will be laid on a drop in transport charges in particular the reduction of the costs of approach. The Prospects for productions and outputs of rice over the 10 next years are given in the table on the following page.

15. VII. STRATEGIES BY SUB SECTOR Seeds: • Credits to the National Institute of Reaserch in Agriculture for Developement and to seed multipliers • A free distribution of the seeds to the producers during the 1st year of the project Marketing and distribution of fertilizers: • Reinforcement of capacities in the production and marketing of fertilizers at the national level ; • improvement of the legislative and legal framework; • Subsidy in the acquisition of fertilizers with strong implication of the PO in the payment of the credits. Irrigation et investments for the control of water: -- support producer organisation in the management of installations; • rehabilitation of the old perimeters and opening of new installations Access and maintenance of the agricultural equipment: • reinforcement of the capacities of local craftsmen contractors in the manufacture and maintenance of farm equipment; • reinforcement of the capacities of the producers as regards maintenance of the agricultural equipment; • Facilitation of the access of the users to the imported equipment; • Reinforcement of the capacities of the technicians as regards agricultural mechanization • Promotion of the function of service providers in the maintenance of the agricultural equipment.

16. STRATEGIES BY SUB SECTOR (cont) Dissemination of the results of research and reinforcement of the capacities: - siftings of the NERICA rice varieties to identify the most adapted. Support with the structuring and the professionnalisation: • Training and reinforcement of competences of the rice farmers and extension agents through the production of pamphlets for rice farming in various ecological zones; • support with the creation and groups of rice farmers and support to the constitution of unions, federations and co-operatives) Access to appropriations of adapted financing: • creation and/or accompaniment of economic partnerships between actors on the basis of fund at cost shared for acquisition, the exploitation and the maintenance of the infrastructures of production; • financial support of the projects of collective or individual investments of the family exploitations and producer groups for strategic speculations like rice. • Post-harvest operations and marketing: putting in place credit lines for the financing of the activities of production and marketing of the rice and hence a reliable information system; the organization of marketing and quality control for importation.

17. VIII. FINANCING • The estimated cost is 191 billion francs CFA of which: • 49 billion for basic installations, 309 000 ha of rain-fed and flooded valley rice farming; • 14 billion for the rehabilitation 9 300 hectares old perimeters; • 27 billion for the research activities; • 42 billion for the support for inputs for the first cycle crop for newly developed 309 000ha of farmland; • 44 billion for the equipment production, storage and transformation; • 15 billion for the other activities including support in the structuring and the reinforcement the capacities the rice farmers, the studies, the coordination and the follow-up of the implementation of the SNDR. • The financing of the SNDR will have to be the subject of a voluntarist intervention of the State and its partners. The State will provide 20% of the required financing, the external partners 75% and the national private actors 5%.

18. IX. CONCLUSION • The promotion of rice farming is part of the agricultural policy initiated by Cameroon in the 1970s. • In spite of a significant potential and a promising beginning of valorization, the rice production broke down in the mid 80s because of a certain number of constraints. • Rice constitutes from now on one of the basic foodstuffs of the populations. Its consumption knows an average increase of 4% per annum and was estimated in 2008 at 25,7 kg per capita and per annum. • This situation forces the revival of the national rice production to reduce the dependence of the nation on outside sources. • This objective is realizable if the identified constraints are eliminated through well targeted measures. • The priority actions retained in the SNDR aim at creating a framework where efforts geared toward the durability of the actions and investments engaged, for attainment of the social objectives (food safety, creation of rural jobs and poverty reduction) and for economic profitability (competitiveness of local rice on the domestic market). • The NRDS was initiated by the State since 2008, discussed in February 2009 with the actors of the national sector and presented on April 7 2009 at the major TFP of the rural sector (FAO, BAD, EU, FIDA, SCAC, JICA) with a favorable reception

19. Thank You!