Making banana plantain a driver of growth and a lever for professional integration is the ambition behind the program “One young person, one plantain plantation oriented toward a market, a bank account.” In Yaoundé, 500 students from private higher education institutions received their starter kits before heading to a specialized incubator in the sector.
In Central Africa, banana plantain is one of the main staple foods, providing nearly 35% of the population’s caloric intake. The sector engages more than half of the rural workforce and represents a food sovereignty issue for more than 500 million consumers. It is in this context that the National School of Administration and Magistracy in Yaoundé hosted the ceremony for the distribution of starter kits and labor-saving machines to 500 students from the fifth cohort of the program “One young person, one plantation, one market, one bank account.” This is the result of a partnership between the Cameroon Plantain Banana Sector (FBPC) and five Private Higher Education Institutes (IPES).
“Dear students who have chosen to become business leaders and agro-pastoral entrepreneurs, in the context of our need to achieve emergence by 2025, the Head of State and government encourage you to dare, to create, to innovate, and to become true agro-pastoral entrepreneurs as required. The government will continue to carry out its sovereign responsibilities, continue to support you on the path to success, and continue to help guide you toward emergence, food self-sufficiency, and the development of our country”
Gabriel Mbairobe, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development – Cameroon
Africa’s leading producer and the eighth worldwide, Cameroon produces nearly 5.5 million tons of plantain annually. The sector contributes 4.5% of national agricultural GDP and supports nearly six million people. Through the SND30 development strategy, the country aims to reach 10 million tons of annual production. The integration of young graduates into this value chain therefore addresses both employment challenges and agricultural modernization.
“ Starting tomorrow, students among you who have interesting projects should approach your supervisors. The projects will be registered and submitted to the ANIPES coordination commission, which is responsible for selecting young people with the best proposals. These projects will receive their first round of funding starting September 1st ”
Gabriel Mbairobe, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development – Cameroon
Beyond supporting 500 students from private higher education institutions, the initiative aims to incubate 10,000 young people over five years and create an equal number of agricultural enterprises. The first beneficiaries are joining the specialized plantain incubator after receiving 250,000 high-yield plantlets, meaning 500 plants each. For this first wave, a projected turnover of at least 855 million CFA francs is expected over eleven months, with the ambition of making plantain Cameroon’s leading export product by 2035.
