Farmers Wearing Mosquito Nets & Socks as Face Mask

Farmers Wearing Mosquito Nets & Socks as Face Mask

Environmental friendly trees, cassava cuttings, plantain suckers & anti COVID-19 kits

Mr. Abugicho Godfred Achekwa is the Divisional Delegate of Agriculture and Rural Development for Momo. Lamenting on the challenges faced by farmers in the ongoing Anglophone crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, he regretted that those who even went to the farm and were able to plant, some ended up not harvesting due to interdictions and gun battles. Now with COVID-19, farming groups can no longer hold meetings, farmers lack the means to buy the basic protective kits. "I saw a farmer hung a piece of mosquito net on his nose as mask and another a socks" revealed the delegate

Visibly a victim of the armed conflict rocking the North West region, Momo division in particular as he was recently shot on the leg in Mile 17 Mbengwi by gun men, he thinks that both warring parties ought to protect and not instead attack the farmer. He said "The best thing I've noticed with the parties concerned is that they know they can't fight without eating. So they ought to protect the farmer the more and give them chance to work so as to feed the population because no food, no life."

Abugicho Godfred Achekwa, Div. Del. Agric & Rural Dev't, Momo

He was speaking recently to Mbengwi Online in Bamenda during a ceremony organised by the North West Development Authority, MIDENO to donate a consignment of anti COVID-19 kits and farm inputs to farmers in the region. The handing over ceremony of  the special package to the various farming groups drawn from the 7 divisions of the North West took place on Friday 5th June 2020 in Bamenda, coincidentally, on a day that was also  globally commemorated as World Environment Day. 

Cletus Anye Matoyah, the General Manager of MIDENO in unveiling the raison d'être of the donation said "We want to preempt food insecurity because the population irrespective of what the condition is,  needs food. We're giving them diverse fruit trees to protect the water catchments and considering that we are living in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, we equally made available prevention materials to ensure our farmers are well protected" He also disclosed that in March, MIDENO launched the farming season by giving the farmers planting materials like maize, beans and agrochemicals. 

Cletus Anye MATOYAH, MIDENO G.M in a Symbolic Handing Over

Preceding the handing over exercise were various presentations by agric and health specialists to school the farmers on improved cultural technics and importance of cassava and plantain production, tree planting, environmental protection and COVID-19 prevention technics. In the midst of the ongoing global pandemic, there are farmers who basically lack common face masks and some have been improvising since mask wearing is compulsory. 

Created since 1981 by the government of Cameroon and charged with the responsibility to coordinate, supervise and support rural development in the N.W region, MIDENO according to its general manager has been committed uninterruptedly for 39 years in achieving this mission through the Grassfield Participatory and Decentralized Rural Development Project (GP-DERUDEP),  the Livestock and Fisheries Development Project (LIFIDEP), and the Grassfield Participatory and Integrated Rural Development Project (GP-IRDP). Recently, the authority secured a  funding package of over 75 billion CFA frs from the Cameroon government, the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank to develop the region. 

Dr. Denis Nsame, Director, Bamenda Regional Hospital Schooling Farmers on COVID-19

Among the items donated were 15.000 plantain suckers, 11.500 improved environmental friendly trees, 100.000 cassava cuttings, diverse COVID-19 prevention materials like tap buckets and wash hand basins, sanitisers and face masks. With this, it is hoped that food and water scarcity will be minimised in the region in the days ahead and the farmers remain healthy.