This is the conclusion of the evaluation mission for the agroecology project to strengthen food and nutritional security for smallholder families in the villages of Campo Ma’an, led by the coordinator of the UNDP GEF small grant programme.
«Your villages could become major fruit-producing hubs”, was one of the comments made by the coordinator of the UNDP GEF small grants program at the end of the presentation of project results made by the SAILD agricultural manager at a meeting in Campo. Indeed, during the project’s implementation, the populations of the Akak and Nkoelon villages were trained by SAILD teams in the establishment and maintenance of fruit tree nurseries. These can not only act as income-generating activities, but also contribute to household food diversification. Over 1,200 fruit tree seedlings have already been produced. In addition, some 23 ha of fields are now farmed by beneficiaries using agroecological practices such as crop association, crop rotation and mulching. “Thanks to the agroecological practices I learned and the seeds I received from SAILD, I was able to increase my corn production during the last agricultural season. I sold 3 bags of 100 kg,” confides Mba Louise, a young beneficiary from the village of Nkoelon.
After the presentation of the project results in the auditorium, the SAILD and UNDP teams made a field visit to the 2 beneficiary villages in the Campo district of southern Cameroon. It was an opportunity to get a first-hand look at some of the achievements within the communities. Particular attention was paid to the crushing mills granted to the people of Nkoelon. “Thank you for all the equipment and technical support that SAILD has given us. We hope to benefit from SAILD again, as we need a lot of support to lift our village up,” concludes Ndongo, the project’s focal point in Nkoelon village.
At the end of the day on August 3, 2023, the GEF SGP PNUD coordinator expressed his satisfaction with the project’s results and encouraged the SAILD team to produce documentation to capitalize on this 18-month project.
rodrigue.kouang@saild.org
