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2004-2005 Archived Historical Events
Food for Progress Agreement signed
between the United States and Cameroon
June 28, 2005
US Ambassador to Cameroon Niels Marquardt and Frederic Augustin Kodock, minister of State for planning and regional development signed on June 28, 2005 a Food for Progress Agreement resulting in five million dollars of assistance donated by the United States to Cameroon. The ceremony took place at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel and witnessed the participation of the minister of Agriculture Clobert Tchatat.
Cameroon has been designated as a grant recipient under the United States Department of Agriculture Food for Progress Program. The grant with a value of 5 million U.S dollars, consists of up to 11,000 metric tons of rice with a current estimated market value of 3.8 million U.S dollars, and includes shipping costs estimated to be 1.2 million U.S dollars. This third grant follows two successive ones in 2003 and 2004 that amounted to 10 million dollars or a total of 15 million dollars in three years, nearly 7.5 billion Francs CFA.
The Government of the Republic of Cameroon will sell the rice and use the proceeds to finance rural development activities with the objective to alleviate poverty, promote agricultural development and create employment in Cameroon. The program will integrate tree crop and agric-business to enhance household livelihood security in vulnerable communities of the Center and South West Provinces of Cameroon.
Within the Center Province and the South West Province, the sales proceeds will be used to produce stable and diversified tree crops for consumption and income generation, to integrate tree cropping and agro-business programming, to conduct quality field programs for household livelihood security; and to build the capacity of local NGOs, community-based organizations and private entities in the domain of tree crop production. The proceeds will also fund ten USDA Norman E. Borlaug Fellowships and a sawdust briquetting project.
The Ministry of Planning, Programming and Regional Development will be responsible for the overall coordination of the 2005 Food for Progress Program within Cameroon. Development projects will be implemented in close collaboration among a number of government entities. The overall program is supported by the Ministry of Planning, Programming and Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Commerce and by the Governors of the Center Province and the South West Province.