Development of Agric Sector : Gov’t Creates Cameroon Seedling Company

In a bid to boost the agricultural sector in the country and scale up production, the government has created a high-tech industrial tree nursery known as Cameroon Seedling Company, as well as put in place a distribution system.

The outfit, which is coming at a time many countries in West and Central Africa are facing serious challenges in agro-forestry and environmental sustainability, is the fruit of successful negotiations between the Government of Cameroon and Tree Global; a Swiss international nursery service.

A memorandum of understanding to set the project rolling was signed in Yaounde, Wednesday April 17. While the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey signed on behalf of the Government, the Chief Execution Officer of Tree Global, Gregory Hess, penned for his organisation. On hand was the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel Mbairobe, amongst other top government officials.

According to the CEO of Tree Global, “this agreement is not merely a seedling production agreement but also a game changer for Cameroon’s economic development and environmental sustainability.” Gregory Hess said the MoU seeks to break the vicious cycle whereby low productivity drives deforestation and the increasing pressure on forest accelerates the impacts of climate change, thereby reducing productivity and rendering farmers poor.

Cameroon Tribune learned the high-tech industrial tree nursery and distribution system will produce 50 million high-performance tree seedlings per year. “At Tree Global, we build state-of-the-art nursery facilities and apply advanced ...