CI-NEWS

Mezam farmers receive 6600 environmental-friendly fruit trees.

2019-08-12

No: 440

Mezam farmers receive 6600 environmental-friendly fruit trees.

By Etoh Anzah George in Bamenda.

The role fruits play in nutritional balance in the face of an evolving agricultural context further requires concise means in ensuring their constant availability. Having registered landmarks in the coffee, beans, maize, irish potatoes and palm oil production where thousands of farmers have been empowered over the years MIDENO, whose mission is to coordinate, supervise and support rural development in the North West region for over 37 years and counting, has decided to dare into the planting and growing of fruit trees to further improve livelihoods regionally and nationally.

"Between 6th March 2019 and now MIDENO has distributed a total of 18.5 tons of maize seeds and 27.2 tons of agro chemicals to some 646 farmers of the region in a bid to improve production and productivity", GM, Matoya Cletus, said recently.

The environmentally-friendly fruit trees which are said to be oxygen providers and improve carbon-dioxide, thereby ameliorating the climate were distributed to farmers of Mezam as they received first hand knowledge on the mode of planting, catering and preservation. It should be noted amongst many vital uses the trees support wildlife, provide materials for tools and shelter and above all have a lot of financial benefits and come with a lot of community connection. As such cognizant of the rough terrain of Bamenda and the water scarcity, it is hoped that the trees will provide regular and good quality water as this vision, he says, is in line with a clarion call from sub as well as international organisations for all to go green. This explains why MIDENO, according to its GM, will work in collaboration with the regional delegates for agriculture and rural development and that of environment and nature protection to ensure its front line staff take concrete measures in the maintenance and follow-up of the beneficiaries.

Addressing the farmers drawn from Mezam Division on the modalities of planting the trees, the director general of PLANOPAC revealed that a space of at least 1-3 metres is required for planting with a similar free space for creeping trees. The fruit trees, that is, passion fruit, guavas, grafted kolanuts, grafted pears, grafted mangoes, grevilea robusta, voocanga, prunus africana and podicarpus are the farmers’ insurance and consequently a proper implementation of the planting phase will breed a healthy harvest. The farmers were exhorted to ensure amongst many other things to take off the black polythene non biodegradable nursing plastic and dig a hole of about twice the length of the nursing plastic before half filling with manure to ensure the resultant effect will be their desires.

To Mr Kuh Emmanuel, "the better you plant, the better they grow and the faster you plant the faster they grow".

"Over the years we were told it’s almost impossible to plant kolanuts and expect to harvest them later but with the grafting of the trees especially kolanuts in under 5 years these grafted trees will start bearing fruits thus becoming an economic and nutritional empowerment".

The farmers who were drawn from Bali, Santa, Bafut, Bamenda 1,2 and 3 respectively all turned out to receive the gesture which many saluted as laudable. The ceremony which held at the esplanade of the joint MIDENO and GP DERUDEP premises equally saw the planting of some fruit trees by the director and officials from sister ministries to grace the innovative phase.

With all this in mind, the question is what becomes of those in other divisions who owing the crisis have not received planting seeds and have neither planted nor have hopes of a meal. Areas such as Belo, Njikwa, Guzang, Fundong, Bafmeng are said to be almost deserted with many posing the question what tomorrow holds for them.

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Mezam farmers receive 6600 environmental-friendly fruit trees.