Funded by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), headed by Dr Noé WOIN, solemnly launched the activities of the Living Laboratory for Sustainable Agriculture (LVAD) project in Ntui (Centre region) on 04 November 2024.

“To acquaint stakeholders with the concept and approaches of the LVAD project, agroecology, Living Labs and the Co-creation process; to present the living lab already in existence as part of the Central and Eastern Africa through transdisciplinary Agroecology Living Labs (CANALLS) project and gather stakeholders’ expectations; to report on the diagnostic survey; to complete the participatory mapping of stakeholders; to create a structural analysis of the causes and effects of the main challenges facing stakeholders in the food production and value chain; to identify and adapt agroecological practices and their combinations to overcome the most critical challenges identified by stakeholders; to prototype innovative systems for the 2024 season; to create a structural analysis of the causes and effects of the main challenges facing stakeholders in the cocoa production and value chain; and to identify and adapt agroecological practices and their combinations to overcome the most critical challenges identified by stakeholders.” In line with the government's agricultural vision, here are the main objectives of the project, which was the subject of a 03-day workshop (04 to 06 November) in the town of Ntui.

“We need to reinvent our agricultural practices, and this will be done through a rethink of agricultural research, more inclusive research”, argued the Head of the Mbalmayo Agricultural Research Centre (CRA), Dr Eunice NDO, personal representative of the IRAD Director General, during the ceremony to launch the project's activities. Local authorities attended, as did the project's partners, especially Thierry LEROY, CIRAD's Regional Director for Central Africa, and Professor Zachée AMBANG, representative of the University of Yaounde 1.

According to Dr Hermine Claudine MAHOT, the project leader and researcher at IRAD, the expected outcomes include: awareness-raising among local authorities and stakeholders in the food sector value chain; mastery of the food sector operating system with all its influential and influenced stakeholders; identification of challenges by the various stakeholders, with the most relevant being selected; and identification and selection of technical solutions incorporating local and scientific knowledge for future experimentation.

Ultimately, the LVAD project aims to limit deforestation and, above all, boost food crop production to ensure long-term self-sufficiency and food security in Cameroon.

The communication unit

Pour outiller les acteurs camerounais de la chaîne de valeur du riz des pratiques et technologies modernes et durables leur permettant de mettre sur le marché des produits de qualité et en quantité suffisante pour les consommateurs, le Centre du Riz pour l’Afrique (AfricaRice) a, en collaboration technique avec l’Institut de Recherche Agricole pour le Développement (IRAD), organisé un atelier de formation du 09 au 12 septembre 2024 à Yaoundé (région du Centre).

Dans le cadre du programme Compact riz du projet Technologies pour la Transformation de l’Agriculture en Afrique (TAAT), financé par la Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD).

À l’ouverture et de la clôture des travaux, le Directeur Général Adjoint/Directeur de la Recherche Scientifique (DGA/DRS) de l’IRAD, Dr Francis NGOMÈ, a réitéré l’importance que les pouvoirs publics accordent à la recherche agricole en général et du riz en particulier. Non sans exhorter les participants à partager, une fois rentrer dans leurs localités respectives, les connaissances acquises de ce séminaire afin de booster la filière riz au Cameroun.

Selon le Dr Sali ATANGA NDINDENG, responsable de TAAT Rice Compact : «l'atelier de Yaoundé va permettre aux responsables des plateformes d’innovation d'étuvage du riz et des transformateurs de produits alimentaires au Cameroun d’acquérir des compétences et des technologies de pointe pour la production de produits de première qualité, riches en micronutriments et à faible indice glycémique».

Visiblement, après les quatre jours d’enseignements théoriques et pratiques des experts émérites de l’IRAD et AfricaRice, la trentaine de participants venant des 10 régions du Cameroun est rentrée imprégnée des connaissances sur les process de lavage, de rinçage, de séchage, de trempage, d’étuvage, de décorticage et de conditionnement du riz. Pour écouler, dorénavant, sur le marché national du riz de qualité et en quantité suffisante pour les consommateurs. Ce d’autant plus qu’il s’agit d’une céréale très prisée par tous les Camerounais.

Il est à relever qu’en plus des pratiques et technologies durables inculquées aux acteurs de la filière, le programme TAAT intensifie la diffusion des variétés de riz intelligentes pour faire face aux conséquences néfastes des réchauffements climatiques actuels.

La Celcom

Producers of off-season sorghum, commonly known as Mouskwari, in the subdivisions of Bibemi, Pitoa, Figuil and Guider, in the North region, can boost production for the 2024 crop season. In fact, the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), headed by Dr Noé WOIN, has provided them with more than 03 tonnes (3 000 kg) of improved foundation seeds of off-season sorghum, which can sow around 654 hectares and produce more than 1.300 tonnes.

More than 200 producers gathered in the CIGs and cooperatives received this agricultural manna free of charge from the public authorities. The improved seeds will certainly increase sorghum yields and improve the living conditions of these farmers. "Without foundation seed, we are nothing. Before, we could harvest 6 to 7 tonnes per hectare. Now, it is impossible to even have 02 tonnes,” regrets Mr. AMINOU. "We are delighted for this gift of IRAD. I am sure that this will improve our production and therefore our living conditions”,  rejoices M. DJOUNTCHOUKBE.

According to IRAD officials, this gesture by the government through the Institute of Nkolbisson aims to guarantee food security for vulnerable populations in this part of the country, which had been hard hit by climatic hazards. « There have been pockets of drought and floods. Faced with this alarming situation, the IRAD Director General decided to organize a seed distribution campaign to meet the forecasts of the season,” explains Paul SOUNOU, researcher at the IRAD Station in Garoua. Farmers were asked to use these seeds to produce good yields and fight hunger and poverty.

The distribution of these foundation seeds of sorghum, which are of very high genetic quality, will allow farmers to increase their yields and obtain more abundant harvests.

As sorghum is an essential cereal for the daily food of the people in these regions of the country. This government initiative helps to strengthen food security by increasing local production. According to IRAD researchers, foundation seeds are developed to resist disease and difficult climatic conditions, with a high yield potential per hectare. Clearly, This distribution of Mouskwari seeds will therefore help these farmers cope with the current adverse effects of climate change.

The Communication Unit

‘‘The workshops that bring us together today aims to: strengthen the capacity of actors in the production and conservation of fodder and fodder seeds", declared Dr Noé WOIN, the Director General of IRAD on 30 August 2024 in Ngaoundere (Adamawa region) during the launching ceremony. Mr OBADIA TCHINGSABE, the Head of the Regional Centre for Scientific Research and Innovation (CRRI) of Adamawa, Dr Venasius WIRNKAR LENDZEMO, the Head of the Agricultural Research Centre (CRA) of Wakwa, and Mr BAMANG, the Head of the Branch of the PDCVEP Adamawa, from the PDCVEP Focal Point at IRAD, Dr ETCHU Kingsley AGBOR all attended this ceremony.

35 livestock producers from the country’s 10 regions received training from 29 to 31 August on: Capacity building for fodder production, capacity building for the production of quality fodder seeds and networking of these actors to facilitate information flow on different fodder seed markets.

To this end, these actors have been built on concepts such as: "the advantages and constraints of a rangeland, the typology of a rangeland, the establishment of a fodder field, the maintenance and management of a fodder field, the techniques for preserving fodder and the techniques for preserving fodder seed...", with the purpose of an innovative and sustainable livestock sector.

22 researchers from IRAD’s operational structures across Cameroon have been equipped with innovative techniques for the creation and management of livestock, knowledge and practices for the production and conservation of forage seeds.

This was an opportunity for the DG of IRAD to recall, so that no one is unaware, that the PDCVEP, which emanates from the will of the State of Cameroon, aims to contribute in an inclusive way to the improvement of food and nutrition security, and poverty reduction in Cameroon.

Communication Unit