Turning (Food) Crisis Into Opportunity?
Agriculture is not Cameroon’s strong suit, but leaders of the West African country think the current food crisis could provide the impetus to boost domestic food production.
According to IRIN, Cameroon’s government recently put into action an emergency plan to increase local farming.
“My hope is that the current crisis created by high world food prices would end up having a positive impact for Cameroon by forcing us to become an agriculture-based economy,” said Rabelais Yankam Njomou, an advisor on agriculture to the Cameroon government.
According to the article, Cameroon currently uses only about 20 percent of its fertile land; its economy relies heavily on imported food. Even fertilizer is too expensive for most local farmers, but the country's emergency plan calls for subsidized fertilizer and free seed banks.
Cameroon says it wants to become not only self-sufficient, but a major food exporter. Can it truly turn crisis into opportunity?
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