Cocoa development
On 19 February 2021, the Minister of Trade (MINCOMMERCE), Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana and a European Union delegation held a consultation meeting in Yaounde on cocoa production. The purpose of the meeting was to present to Cameroon the current cocoa inclusive dialogue with the main parties. "Given that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are already on board, we wanted to see how Cameroon can join the initiative," Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said.
The EU wants to supply its consumers with cocoa produced following a number of criteria related to the protection of forests on a global scale. It has thus drafted a regulatory response to ban products that contribute to deforestation and to ensure good corporate governance. The EU has also set up the European Union's Sustainable Cocoa Initiative with 16.39 billion FCFA support, and is engaging dialogue with some producer countries, notably Ghana, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire.
“The country has enough arguments to buttress this political dialogue, because we have set up a number of programmes, notably legislation and regulations against deforestation, child labour. Additionally, we have initiated centres of excellence in post-harvest cocoa processing,' Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said. In addition to the financial support from the EU, the Cameroonian side expressed the wish to receive technical support to produce standardised cocoa.
(Source- Cameroon Tribune No.12289/8488 of 19 February 2021)