LOCATION
Cameroon
Dschang (West Cameroon) and Douala (Coastal region)
LOCAL PARTNERS
SOFRULECAM, social enterprise.
PROJECT LAUNCH
2014
We have changed many aspects of our working methods: we sow crops less close together in order to leave enough room for each plant, we pay more attention to the amount of products used to treat crops and we form ridges around the crops several times in order to increase harvests. These results help our family a great deal. We have four children between 1 and 8 years old. The income we make allows us to buy rations of Carlos and Edwige TETTAN, oil, some clothes, pay school fees and buy beneficiaries of the APONH some books for the children at the start of project in Cameroon. the year.”″
Carlos et Edwige TETTAN
beneficiaries of the APONH project in Cameroon.
The APONH Project – Improve the living conditions of farmers
The Aponh project aims to help to improve the living conditions of farmers in West Cameroon.
Launched by the IECD in 2014 in partnership with the Bonduelle group, the APONH project accompanies the economic development of the western region of Cameroon by supporting the activity of farmers. It comprises three sections:
1
Training of farmers in order to diversify their production and improve their yields.
2
The development of the commercial sector.
3
Participation in the region’s social development.
- Diversify production: new types of crops such as cherry tomatoes, rocket, strawberries and melon, for a highly lucrative niche market.
- Improve yields: introduction of new techniques such as sustainable agriculture (dosing of fertilizers, personal protection equipment, construction of shelters, etc.). This approach also helps to disseminate environmentally- friendly farming methods and produce healthier food.
- In order to increase the income of farmers, the project works to find new openings for their production. In 2017, the Société des Fruits et Légumes du Cameroun (SOFRULECAM) was created. This enterprise sells products grown by people who have benefitted from the program via local distribution channels. A brand was created in order to be more visible: the Potagers de Bafou.
- As a social enterprise the SOFRULECAM re-injects all of its benefits into the project’s social activities: training for farmers and the Moineaux school; this has already allowed the renovation of the school’s infrastructure (channels around the building for better water drainage and construction of a fence around the schoolyard), as well as the distribution of meals to the school’s 206 pupils.
Résultats 2020:
- 77 farmers supported, of whom 58% are women.
