The funds are intended for the implementation of a support project for the development of fishery cassava and plantain production in some municipalities of the Eastern Region.

The official launch of the Economic Empowerment and Food Security Support Project in the East (PAAESA) in this part of the country has helped to better understand the objectives of this project, which began in late 2016.

“The three-year project aims to solve the food insecurity problem in these localities through the processing and marketing of cassava, plantain and fish,” the project manager Samuel Tangou said.

The project aims at supervising 500 producers, including 100 farmers, 200 plantain and 200 cassava producers, all from the municipalities concerned in the departments of Lom-et-Djerem and Kadey, in the Eastern Region.

Ultimately, “this project would allow an annual production of about 600 tonnes of plantain and 3000 tonnes of cassava over the same period,” he added.

On the basis of field surveys, it was established that the mass influx of Central African refugees, coupled with the low agricultural incomes of indigenous populations, are aggravating food insecurity factors while food needs in these different components were not met.