Agriculture is without doubt the backbone of Cameroon's economy, employing 70% of its workforce, while providing 42 percent of its GDP and 30 percent of its export revenue. The status quo is reflected in the South West region where the large majority of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihood. This puts the weighty responsibility of sustaining the wellbeing of the region on the south west development authority. It is why SOWEDA’s department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has been present on the field, playing a vital role in improving the livelihood of the population of the South West Region. The department has been seeking and implementing agricultural reforms that will revive the sector and encourage agricultural evolution.

 In the past 4 years, the department has been putting emphasis on building the capacities of farmers in the region, giving them the required knowledge to the get the best of yields. SOWEDA has reached out to these farmers with training workshops.

One of such workshops was carried out on the 4th and 5th of November 2020 at the SOWEDA training center in Mamfe in the Manyu Division, South West Region of Cameroon. A team of experts form SOWEDA trained over 61 farmers on the maize cultivation and how it should be properly carried out. This capacity building workshop was necessary given the high demand for maize in Cameroon. This training like many others has helped farmers to increase second season maize production in Mamfe and its environs, educating farmers and producer groups on the use of improved maize seeds, enhancing proper management of pest and disease control on the maize plant and encouraging the increase in size of maize farms.

The department of Agriculture, livestock and fisheries was also on the field visiting different seed multiplication centres.  These visits permitted SOWEDA to amongst other things evaluate the progress on current farm operations and provide planting materials to farmers. Significant efforts have also gone into assessing and ensuring that only quality materials are purchased and used as per the policy of SOWEDA.

The past 4 years have been quite eventful for the Agriculture, livestock and Fisheries team at SOWEDA. We look to 2021 with hope and determination. We are sure that farmers in the South West Region will receive the usual attention from the SOWEDA.