In the Finance Act 2024 currently being implemented in Cameroon, the government has readjusted the rates of state royalties in favor of agricultural companies. This is the quid pro quo for the advantage the companies derive from occupying the public domain. To make this initiative more effective, the country has reduced state fees by 92% for all agricultural companies.
Cameroon has decided to ease productivity for agro industries by reducing its state fee by 92%. This provision is in line with the government’s policy of promoting import-substitution. Launched in 2021, this policy consists of producing certain imported goods and services locally. As part of this policy, the government plans to invest 27.5 billion FCFA in 2024 to reduce its food imports in particular.
“This is going to be beneficial for the agricultural company , it means fewer costs and agricultural companies now have the capacity to expand and hire more people, therefore creating more employment. This is also going to reduce the negative impact of inflation because we import over 45% of our fertilizer from Ukraine and the war definitely caused an increase in prices”.
Henry Kouam, Economist – Cameroon
According to the finance law, the aim of this measure is to provide a more favorable tax framework for agricultural businesses, thereby encouraging their development. Rates for urban plots have been reduced from 50 FCFA to 4 FCFA per m², while rates for rural plots have been readjusted from 25 FCFA to 2 FCFA per m².
Cameroon’s agro-industry companies transform raw materials from agriculture, fishing and forestry into non-food products such as biofuels, biomaterials and industrial biotechnologies.
Henry Kouam, Economist – Cameroon
By lowering state royalties, Cameroon aims to encourage companies to invest in arable land. According to the latest report by the Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation of Public and Parapublic Sector Enterprises (CTR), the country is struggling to meet its national demand for rice, which is estimated at 736,565 tonnes for a national production of 84,000 tonnes by 2022.