By Njodzeka Kernyuy
As wheat harvesting has begun in Cameroon, Wassande is expected to generate 600 tons alone, Adamawa regional authorities have said.
Following a visit to the Wassande wheat field, Adamawa Governor Kildadi Taguieke Boukar and the Director General of IRAD (Institute of Agricultural Research for Development), Dr. Noewoin, expressed satisfaction about the wheat grown and ready for harvesting.
According to authorities, the expected 600 tons will be reserved as seed for the next planting season, where cultivation will be expanded to 6,000 hectares of land.
Talking to the state-owned newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, officials said the harvest is part of the import-substitution policy, which aims to eliminate spending hundreds of billions of CFA francs on imports of what Cameroon can produce.
Cameroon Wheat Importation
According to statistics, Cameroon imports between 800,000 and one million tons of wheat annually.
In 2023, the country spent between 178 and 182 billion FCFA on wheat importation. Most wheat imported into Cameroon comes from Russia, Ukraine, and France.
Following the Russian-Ukraine war, supply drastically dropped in Cameroon, resulting in a price hike. That prompted the government to start harnessing local production to meet up.
During his 2024 year-end speech, President Paul Biya announced that Cameroon was able to produce 120,800 tons of wheat flour. Wheat is a staple in Cameroon, and the amount being produced by the country is still far below the demand.
That is why Paul Biya has supported local production like the one in Wassande. The government was able to locate an investment of 10.3 billion FCFA within five years to revamp the wheat sector in Cameroon.
Of that amount, 3 billion francs CFA went to Wassande alone. And since then, according to IRAD, in three years, the site has generated over 1,000 tons of seeds distributed through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“The ambition now extends beyond simple harvesting,” the Irad director stated.
According to Cameroon Tribune, IRAD is calling on private operators to get involved in the value chain, with the flagship project being the creation of a local mini-processing unit.
Reality in Oku
In Oku, North West Region, farmers are seizing the opportunity. Every year they are producing tons despite the ongoing armed conflict in the region.
The production in Oku has extended to other parts of Bui Division. Apart from wheat flour, farmers there are using wheat to produce beers and sticks, among other products.
