Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

25. Cameroon Report 20/01/85: The Plight of our Farmers

89 25 Cameroon Report 20/01/85: The Plight of our Farmers Introduction: It has become a regular theme for sermons that farmers hold the live-wire of the Cameroonian economy. But while non-farmers maintain the highest standards of living in this country, these farmers have remained the subsistence- level citizens. They have barely enough to send a few children to school, prepare for feasts like Christmas and keep a bit for beer and a grass-roof house. While blaming the world division of labour which has forced the prices of agricultural products to be very low compared to those of manufactured goods, those nationals who have been made rich by being asked to deal with agricultural cooperatives bear heavy responsibility. Newsman AKWANKA JOE NDIFOR looks at the problems of our farmers as another coffee season begins in the country: It is more than two years now that Cameroon Report first brought to the knowledge of the public the famous North West Cooperative scandal. This was when the administration had realized the gross and unpardonable misuse of poor farmers’ monies by a handful of unscrupulous individuals and decided to dissolve the body. Although one of our reporters almost got lynched when he first made a commentary on the issue, this programme decided to take sides with the government in protecting the interests of our famers who today are the live-wire of Cameroon’s economy. Other smaller cooperatives were examined and the same criminal activities were uncovered, 90 although it is not yet clear whether those responsible were punished in conformity with public opinion. It is equally unclear whether the wind that swept the North West Cooperative Union also affected other parts of the country. In spite of all these steps taken by the administration to check those vices, it would appear things never worked. This is confirmed by the shocking disclosure by the Minister of Trade and Industry last week that the production of Robusta coffee dropped by 55 % and Arabica coffee by 26 %. Now this is a clear indication that much still has to be done to recapture waning interest of our farmers in agriculture. Anybody who cares about the well being of our farmers will agree with this reporter that the New Deal government has been doing much of late to win back the confidence of the farmer. The National Agro-pastoral Show in Bamenda is one of the examples. Competitions for the best farms are being organised all over the country. The National Fund for Rural Development (FONADER) has been decentralized which gives us hope that it will henceforth be a true farmers’ bank and not the personal property of any individual. In spite of the recent increase in the prices of coffee and cocoa by the Head of State, the National Produce Marketing Board has been running a campaign promising farmers bonuses for the produce they sell. On top of all, last week, the Minister of Trade and Industry announced that even commercial banks will henceforth be prepared to give loans to farmers. These are all excellent decisions which leave us with the feeling that Cameroonian farmers may be in heaven by next week. We first got the impression under the former regime that farmers were unhappy when a story was making the rounds 91 about a certain man who left his village to town and when he was shown a skyscraper of a cooperative building, he went back home and in anger, decided to cut down his coffee plants to cultivate plantains in their place. We are not saying that he was right in doing so. But one question remains: What forced him to take such a decision? Now take a ride at night, say from Bamenda to Bafoussam. You will come across a handful of road-blocks not manned by the forces of law and order but by cooperative officials. Their aim? To check illegal dealings in the sale of coffee. Why this smuggling? Because there is little or no confidence in the cooperative organisation. In fact, the warning by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to those who deal with cash crops that they would be severely punished if their activities were irregular comes at the appropriate moment. We cannot deny the fact that the degree of lawlessness is still so high in this country that there are people or better still outlaws who feel that the law is...