Official Launch of the New Credit Line "Producers‘ Desk" in the Mbam and Kim Department, Cameroon

07 March 2023, Téaté (Cameroon) – The Producers’ Desk, a credit line for cocoa and coffee producers for the department of Mbam and Kim, was launched on 07 March 2023 in Teaté, a village in central Cameroon. This Desk subsidizes agricultural inputs to the tune of 40%, through the Cocoa and Coffee Subsectors Development Fund (FODECC).

Part of the FCFA, seven and a half billion FODECC funds available to Cameroon’s cocoa producers, will also be made available to producers in the Mbangassina municipality, through IDH facilitation.

This initiative is proposed within the framework of Convention N°CM/FED/040-031 signed in 2019 between the European Commission and the Cameroonian Government which aims to subsidize inputs, equipment and infrastructure.

This subsidy will come from the reserve accumulated by the Cocoa and Coffee Subsectors Development Fund (FODECC), while the remaining 60% will have to be raised by producers, either from their own funds or from their respective financial institutions.

Signing a PPI Compact in Cameroon

By signing the PPI Compact on 2 December 2022, FODECC made a commitment to support Mbangassina’s cocoa producers, through the subsidy of 2,000 Union of Cocoa Producers’ input products from 17 cooperatives.

The PPI Compact is an agreement between the Municipality of Mbangassina, IDH and other key stakeholders, to directly help cocoa producers access financing for inputs such as agrochemicals and possibly fertilizers and some infrastructure, among others.

How does this subsidy work?

To access this subsidy, the producer must install a dedicated application on his phone and record his personal details. He must then create a bank account, choose an agro-dealer from the list of agro-dealers listed in the application. Finally, he places the order for the goods requested, deposits his 60% share in his bank account. As soon as the subsidy is granted, the producer will take his products from his agro-dealer.

Reflections from participants

According to Samuel Donatien Nengué, the Administrator of the Cocoa and Coffee Subsectors Development Fund (Fodecc):

We have seven and a half billion CFA francs available for you now through the Producers’ Desk. Register quickly, deposit your 60% in the bank accounts and you will have the 40% that the State has kept for you.

Hundreds of cocoa producers present at the launch of the “Producers’ Desk”, for the Mbam and Kim, an administrative department in central Cameroon welcomed the news with cheer.

Official launch of the Producers‘ Desk in the Mbam and Kim department © @2023 Photoyoums
Official launch of the Producers‘ Desk in the Mbam and Kim department

Jean Marie Anaba, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mbangassina Union of Cooperative Societies* said:

I am very pleased with the launch of this Desk and especially with the massive support of cocoa farmers. It bodes that this product will add value to production. My absolute wish is to raise the standard of living of producers.

On IDH's role in Mbangassina, Mathieu Félicien Nogo , Coordinator of the municipal coalition of the municipality of Mbangassina said:

IDH plays a major role in Mbangassina. IDH allowed the establishment of the municipal coalition, the establishment of the Union of Cooperative Societies, the establishment of group sales that allowed us to increase the selling price of a kilogram of cocoa. We have given a new meaning to IDH which is now: Initiator of Human Development.

Background:

The “Producers’ Desk” is a multi-stakeholder process, which aims to provide producers in eight production basins in Cameroon directly with government subsidies amounting to 40% of their needs. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Deputy Mayor of Mbangassina, members of the Municipal Coalition of the Municipality of Mbangassina, Agro-dealers, microfinance managers and IDH Cameroon staff also took part in the ceremony in Téaté.

This non-repayable assistance will be used to acquire agricultural inputs, production equipment or build infrastructure.

The process took place under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Minader) and the Cocoa and Coffee Subsectors Development Fund (Fodecc). The establishment of the “Producers’ Desk” was facilitated by IDH.

*The Union of Cooperative Societies brings together 17 farmers’ organizations, for about 4000 producers.

The Official Launch at a Glance