Story, Louvier Kindo Tombe
For two days, the town of Campo was transformed into a veritable agricultural bonanza where farmers, civil society actors, government officials and consumers had the opportunity to exchange views on the development of farming activities in the sub division. Coming from all the nooks and crannies of the sub division and beyond, the women presented the best of their harvests. On the exhibition stands were produce like yams, cocoyams, maize, plantains, cassava, onion, and to an extent cocoa.
Apart from agricultural harvests, the exhibitors equally showcased their talents in poultry farming and food processing.
Visitors were amazed with the different exhibitions.
“Wow! I never knew the women of Campo were into agriculture to this extent,” a visitor exclaimed as he visited the different exhibition stands.
Organized by the women of AFRiSC-Campo, the objective of the two days agric show was to present quality farm produce to the population, valorize culture and local dishes of the community and encourage all and sundry to embrace agriculture in the sub division which is blessed with fertile farming land.
“First of all, we are happy with the success of the agric show. The idea was to present to the world what we, women of Campo can do despite our challenges,” Angon Verone, president of AFRiSC-Campo told News Upfront.
The agric show was timely given that there is the lack of interest in agriculture among the people of Campo.
“Our land is not only to be sold, or used by agro-industries, we need to cultivate it,” says Ntari-bou Vingedou, who represented the Divisional Officer for Campo.
He was among the local administrative authorities and government officials who attended the opening ceremony of the agric show.
The D.O.’s representative encouraged the youths to develop interest in agriculture in order to contribute to the development of the locality.
The success story
Among the women who showcased their harvests at the agric show was Mama Ngono, member of AFRiSC-Campo. She arrived the exhibition ground as early as 7:00 am local time with her basin of yams on her head. From a distance, you could easily notice her joy.
“Since I embraced agriculture, I have never harvested good yields like this year,” Mama Ngono said as she placed the yams in heaps untop of a bag spread on the ground.
Before now, Mama Ngono used to plant only plantains in her farm. Little did she know that it was possible to plant other crops alongside. It was thanks to a training on agroecology that they at AFRiSC-Campo received from a Non Governmental Organization, Green Development Advocate (GDA), that she became aware and added yams and cocoyams in the farm.
Agroecology is sustainable farming that works with nature. It is the application of natural concepts and principals in farming. Ecology is the study of relationships between plants, animals, people, and their environment – and the balance between these relationships gives reason for agroecology.
“We have been working with these women since 2019, and through agroecology, we have successfully encouraged them to plant a variety of crops on same farmland. This is advantageous for it keeps them busy all year round and maximizes yields,” says Nguena Mawamba Carrele, in charge of Monitoring Evaluation and Learning at GDA.
“We thank GDA for all these trainings,” Angon Verone said.
Given that one of the principles of agroecology is to ensure the health of soil and crops, the women of Campo were equally trained on how to produce natural fertilizers and pesticides.
“I made good harvest this year because of the use of natural fertilizers and pesticides in my farms,” Mama Ngono told News Upfront.
Challenging agricultural practices in Campo
Agroecology is a sustainable way to fight food security and safety. As Campo women embrace it, they are still faced with human wildlife conflicts. This is a situation where animals leave the wild and stray into farmlands destroying crops. Elephants, antelopes, monkeys, squirrels, chimpanzees, … etc, are among the common animals in Campo.
“The reason we don’t cultivate much cocoa here is because of chimpanzees,” the president of AFRiSC-Campo told this reporter.
The women of AFRiSC-Campo during the agric show tabled this problem to the Divisional Officer during the agric show.
“It is a real problem, but I want to assure them that the problem has been tabled at the highest quarters, president Paul Biya is away and the government will definitely look into it,” says Ntari-bou Vingedou.
Besides human wildlife conflicts, farm to market roads, absence of a women’s empowerment center, and the actions of some agro-industries greatly impact on agriculture negatively.
In response to some of these challenges, Green Development Advocate, donated incubators for poultry farming to some villages in the community.
“Campo should not continue to depend on frozen chicken. Campo has to mitigate the effects of illegal hunting in the locality. Poultry farming to us is a good alternative,” Nguena Mawamba Carrele said as she handed over the incubators to the beneficiaries.
The D.O.’s representative promised the women of Campo that an empowerment center will be constructed in the town, to help them better excel in their respective agricultural endeavours.
