Cameroon targets 25 tonnes per hectare of locally produced cassava
Government steps up processing and farm support to cut losses and raise national yields.
CAMEROON – Cameroon has set a new goal to raise cassava yields to 25 tonnes per hectare as it expands local processing and supports small farmers.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gabriel Mbairobe on Monday inaugurated a new cassava processing unit in Minkoa in the Centre region. The facility sits on a 500 square metre site and operates under the Central Agropastoral Cooperative Society, known as Sococapace.
“We want to increase production and reduce the heavy losses farmers face after harvest,” Mbairobe said during the event. “Our target is 25 tonnes per hectare, and we will support farmers with better planting materials and improved farming methods.”
Smallholder farms in Cameroon currently produce between 10 and 15 tonnes per hectare. This level falls far below the 40 tonnes per hectare recorded in Nigeria, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The government now wants to close that gap by promoting intensive agronomic practices and distributing improved cassava plantlets produced through in vitro methods. These plantlets will replace traditional cuttings, which often limit output.
Cassava remains a key food crop in all ten regions of the country, with annual production above 6 million tonnes. However, post harvest losses reach up to 40 percent in some areas. The ministry believes stronger local processing will help absorb more fresh roots and reduce waste.
The government allocates CFA 1.5 billion each year to the cassava sector, about US$2.5 million (CFA 1.5 billion). Officials also plan to build 200 processing units across the country between 2026 and 2030 to expand transformation capacity and increase value addition.
Women at the centre of processing
Sococapace, which runs the new Minkoa unit, mainly consists of women. Mbairobe said the cooperative model supports job creation and income for women in rural and peri urban areas.
“When we support women’s groups like Sococapace, we strengthen families and local economies,” he said.
The ministry has provided tricycles and farm inputs to members of the cooperative. Authorities also plan to extend more financial support to farmers in Minkoa.
The new unit uses semi modern machinery to process cassava roots into starch and flour. It also includes an oven that produces bread, brioche and biscuits made from cassava flour. Sococapace has already secured starch orders from laundry and dry cleaning businesses in Yaoundé and nearby towns.
Cassava products such as flour, starch, chips and gari play a central role in food security and in the national economy, and officials say stronger local processing will help the country rely less on imports while creating more value at home.
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