Cameroon: The government launches local flour manufacturing program

The government of Cameroon says a total of 348 young people will be trained on local flour production in the ten regions of Cameroon. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education on June 14, 2023

Minister Mounouna Foutsou who chaired the official ceremony during which the announcement was made said that the program will be aimed at training the youth on the production of local flour.

“The government through the MINJEC is committed to mobilizing and directing young people towards these promising professions and likely to contribute to this import-substitution policy through the processing of local flour,” she said.

Scarcity

Maize, rice, sorghum, and millet are some major cereal crops cultivated in Cameroon.

Unfortunately, their production is not done on a large scale to meet national demand.

This explains why since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, the Cameroon baking industry has been affected directly.

According to the Minister of Youths and Civic Education, this program will be encouraging self-employment and reduce the importation of wheat flour.

He added that several towns in Cameroon do not have Bakeries that are up to standard.

“Through these units, it is a question of promoting these local raw materials in the manufacture of bread and pastries, while promoting these trades among young people,” the Minister went on.

A total of 348 young people will be trained in the ten regions of the country. In the end, they will be installed in regional pilot units, then in secondary units across the 58 departments. For a start, 60 young people are engaging in the training program.

Foreign dependency

In 2021, the government of Cameroon according to official statistics, imported over 850 tons of grains from Russia and Ukraine.

Russia is considered Cameroon’s leading wheat supplier as it gets approximately 35% of its yearly volume from Russia. The same applies to Ukraine as the country imports 50% of its wheat from Ukraine.

This is happening considering that Cameroon produces less than 1/4 of the 1.6 million tons of wheat needed in the country every year. These statistics were made official by the government of Paul Biya.

It is hoped that this will be able to address the existing problem and reduce the quantity of wheat flour imported into the country.

By Amina Hilda