Final phase of AIVDP: Minister salutes impact of project at 84% realisation.

The was the minister’s key message during the eleventh Ordinary Steering Committee meeting of AIVDP on Friday 12 December 2025 in Buea. 

The meeting was an opportunity for members of the steering committee to get updates on the implementation of the resolutions and recommendations of the 10th steering committee meeting, present current implementation status, and strategise as the first phase of the project rounds up.

Addressing committee members, the President of the Steering Committee, Minister Gabriel Mbairobe, said the project was making true farmers’ dreams of making agriculture a viable businesse and not just a way of life. 

“Food should be both readily available and at affordable prices in our markets, thereby ensuring that all Cameroonians have regular access to food, balanced diets and regular meals daily,” Mbairobe said. 

With the completion of several giant projects envisaged at the launch of the AIVDP project in 2019, he said farmers’ fortunes had significantly improved despite the challenges. 

Significant amounts of planting materials and inputs have been given to thousands of farmers at subsidized prices including 1,000,000 oil palm chitted nuts to 2,259 farmers for an estimated area of 6,666 hectares. 

Some 166,735 cocoa pods (4,168,375 seedlings) to 820 farmers and cooperatives for an estimated area of 3,789 hectares. It was revealed that 23,130 grafted cocoa seedlings to 36 farmers for an estimated area planted of 14 hectares, and 59,129 grafted citrus seedlings to 584 farmers for an estimated area of 230.8 hectares. 

More so, it was revealed that 7,995,800 cassava cuttings have been distributed to 3,186 farmers for an estimated planted area of 677.4 hectares. 

Officials also said 1,037,455 plantain plantlets/ suckers distributed to 2,825 farmers for an estimated planted area of 768.3 hectares while 117.86 tons of potato seeds were distributed to 123 farmers for an estimated planted area of 59 hectares. 

It was further disclosed that 97 tons of rice seeds were distributed to 938 farmers for an estimated area planted of 1,940 hectares and 18 tons of groundnut seeds distributed to 772 farmers for an estimated planted area of 360 hectares. 

In addition to these huge quantities of seeds and other planting materials and inputs, an irrigation network for 200ha of arable land is nearing completion (165ha done), and the construction and installation of various processing units for cocoa, oil palm, cassava, and rice hulling units are ongoing. 

It was also stated that work on the construction of 70km and rehabilitation of 220km of feeder roads is underway to enhance the living conditions of project beneficiaries.

The balance sheet, according to the minister, was satisfactory because the objective of the project to develop the value chain of agriculture in the region was successful with a number of processing units, whether for cocoa or palm oil, corn, rice, cassava amongst others in this region.

In the domain of infrastructural development, farm to market roads, water schemes, health centres, schools, markets, market hangars and processing units for cocoa, cassava, rice and for palm oil have been realised. 

To consolidate the successes, the minister revealed that the government and its partners are working hard to finalize the procedure for the second phase.

This, he said, is “because we are aware of the importance of the project, and we know that the population is waiting for the second phase, so we are doing our best”. 

On his part, the Project Coordinator of AIVDP, Dr Besong Orgork Ntui, said with barely four months to the end of the project, he expressed optimism that his team will be able to round up with all the projects.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3657 of Tuesday December 16, 2025