Cameroon and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have signed a framework agreement worth more than 1.617 billion FCFA (or $2.7 million) to support small Cameroonian farmers. The funds will acquire and distribute nearly 5000 input kits to small farmers and breeders to bolster food security. 

The agreement, signed on April 22 in Yaoundé, aims to strengthen the production capacities of small farmers through support for crops and livestock for resilience. It covers the regions of the East, Adamaoua, North, and Far North. The Minister of Agriculture, Gabriel Mbairobe, explained that the funding will be structured in three parts. The first part aims at the acquisition and distribution of 3,950 input kits in the banana-plantain, yam, cassava, and market gardening sectors in the East region. 

The second part involves acquiring and distributing 900 production input kits in various sectors and vaccinating 150,000 traditional poultry. The final part focuses on technical assistance for sustainable management practices, including training 8,000 beneficiaries and strengthening the technical capacities of 4,100 breeders. In his speech, Gabriel Mbairobe declared that agriculture is one of Cameroon's priorities in its March towards emergence, and food and nutritional security of the population is one of its pillars. 

He enumerated the significant exogenous and endogenous shocks that have undermined Cameroon's food system, leading to a substantial increase in people and food insecurity in some areas of the country. According to official forecasts, it is estimated that some 3.4 million people will need humanitarian assistance in Cameroon in 2024, including 2.3 million of the most vulnerable people.

This agreement with the FAO is part of the Emergency Project to Combat the Food Crisis.