Livestock and Fishery should be Business, not a hand to mouth activity

Dr. Atanga Heinendez, Regional Delegate, NW

Dr. Atanga Heinendez, Regional Delegate of the North West for Livestock and Fishery has called on stake holders of the sector to put in every effort to make sure that Livestock and Fishery activities in the Region are pushed to the level of sustainable business and not just a hand to mouth activity. In this interview that took place at the Regional Delegation of Livestock and Fishery for the North West Region, Dr. Atanga Heinendez revisits the route so far covered by the North West Region and among things calls to mind the fact that the North West Region is among the first two as far as this invaluable sector is concerned in Cameroon. He begins by talking about the situation he met in the field when he came to the North West Region and how things have so far evolved?  He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante.  

 

Dr. Atanga Heinendez

Presently the North West Region occupies the second position in Beef Cattle in the country. We have over 500.000 cattle and thanks to HEIFA we have the highest daily production. In Poultry we are in second position after the West Region which occupies first position in the country. Every Division in the Region has its own specifics. When you talk of cattle then you have to go to Donga Mantung, Bui and Boyo Divisions. When you talk of poultry and pigs then it’s Mezam and Ngoketunjia. In Aqua culture we are a little behind but we are doing well and this activity is concentrated around Mezam, Boyo and Ngoketunjia. When we talk of fish harvest it is of course Ngoketunjia with the Bambalang fish.

What has your ministry done in terms of putting in place infrastructures like Training Centers for refurbishing of stakeholders and training experts?

The Ministry first of all has the moral obligation of making sure that good quality meat is available to the people. To do that, it has its extension services but for continuous training, projects are regularly put in place like ACEFA to follow up the farmers designed production process. We also have PNVIA which permits farmers to be taught modern techniques of production. The most recent that we have is LIFIDEP; Livestock and Fishery Development Project which is funded by the Islamic Development Bank. This project provides infrastructure and other accessories to make sure that Livestock and Fishery activities in the North West are at their utmost. Mass vaccination is an initiative that is subsidized by the Government to make vaccines available at highly subsidized rates. Traditional practices do not permit for maximum production so the government has production farms at Kounden in the West Region which is a specialised Livestock Station for pigs from where highly improved grades of pigs are churned out for farmers. At 6 months, these improved species can weigh a hundred Kilograms.

 What are the grounds so far covered in the North West since you took office here? 

  

When I took over we had some challenges like disease out breaks but for some time now we have not recorded any outbreak in the region. Take the cattle vaccination for example. In 2012 we vaccinated 124.000 herds of cattle. In 2016 we vaccinated 160.000 cattle and this year we are targeting 180.000 herds of cattle or more. It should be recalled that the North West Region has never missed a year in the mass vaccination process. We need to take advantage of all of this so that we will be able to have sufficient quantities that will take care of our needs and even meet up with the demands of neighbours who count on us. We equally had to fight very hard to make sure that the Avian Influenza or Bird Flu didn’t get into the Region. It was a collective fight that involved everybody from the security men, the farmers among others directly or indirectly concerned. I will continue to make the meat safe for human consumption and I call on all to know that it is a collective fight and not only that of the technician.

Are you satisfied with what has so far been done?

I cannot say I am satisfied because success is a journey and we are on the right track getting there though we are not yet there. The Ministry has put in place so many things for the population of the North West Region to benefit from. We have the veterinary School in Jakiri that trains technicians. We have the AFOP Programme and Training Centre at Ku-Bome in Mbengwi; an Aqua Culture Station used for the training of youths. There is the Nazareth Centre in Bamenda and the PRTC Nfonta, Bambui in the Tubah Municipality. Those graduating write projects and these projects are funded to help them settle. We call on youths to contact the Regional Delegations to take advantage of many programmes that the government provides for youths. Livestock and Fishery should be a real business and not a hand to mouth activity.

Les Gens Du Cameroun/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel:+237696896001/ +237678401408

-Joshua Osih: ". 79% of Cameroonians are in favour of a Federal System in Cameroon"

According to Joshua Osih, the Deputy Vice National Chairperson of the Social Democratic Front SDF, 79% of Cameroonians are in favor of a Federal system of government in Cameroon. He equally states that the major problem of Cameroon is the form and structure of the state. He made this declaration at the Ntarikon Residence of Ni John Fru Ndi on Saturday August 5 shortly after the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Social Democratic Front. He began by touching on the main issues that the NEC meeting explored. 

Joshua Osih: Vice President of the Cameroon Social Democratic Front: SDF

We’ve had an intense meeting and we had important declarations made on the Anglophone issue. We also are aware that responsibilities have to be well defined. We also talked about the President of the Republic and his obligations and the moves he has so far made in recognition of these problems. We talked on the life of the party as well as that of the state and expressed our horror on the attacks of Boko Haram especially that of this evening that resulted into a number of deaths.

What is the way forward for Cameroon in the present dead?

Most of the negotiators who sat at the Prime Minister’s table for negotiations ended up in jail and now it is necessary for President Paul Biya to take a decision because he is the only one who can take that decision now to liberate all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in our jails before we can start talking about political dialogue that can take Cameroon out of its problems and whether kids are going back to school or not. The Social Democratic Front recognises the need for children to go to school and we understand that education is paramount and deplore the fact that schools are closed. We frown and are devastated by the fact that schools have not been opened for a school year but the person responsible for all of this is called Paul Biya. He is the one who can solve that problem and who should have solved it a year ago. It is clear that people should understand our stand on this as it is clearly spelled out in the declarations of our meeting. The Government should demilitarize the North West and South West Regions and should release those detained for a cause that the government itself had recognised and even taken some measures to address them. Since the President of the Republic has recognised that there is a problem he should solve that problem.

Cameroon has sent out delegations to negotiate and carried out Diplomatic offensives. What is your take on this?

 I think they should stop wasting useful money. They should solve the problems at home before moving out of the country. They shouldn’t just go around in some sort of a tourist tour out of the country. Everybody knows there is a problem but what we are waiting from the government is solutions. Cameroon cannot be ruled now as it was in the fifties. The major problem of Cameroon is the form and structure of the state. 79% of Cameroonians are in favor of a Federal System in Cameroon. It is a system in which powers are separated from the centralized system that we have now which is at the heart of bad governance in Cameroon.

With the build up to the reopening of schools in September, there is already a National Debate on the issue. Should children go back to school?

 It is true that there is a national debate on whether schools should reopen or not but the problem is much deeper. Paul Biya has recognised that the problem is deeper and has taken a series of actions which points to the fact that he has recognised this fact. We came out today with a declaration called Declaration of the Fifth of August 2017on the Anglophone Crises. We are very clear that Biya is solely responsible for the present predicament in which the country finds itself, for the terrible situation in the North West and South West Regions and for the terrible situation in which Anglophones find themselves. President Paul Biya is solely responsible for the Anglophone Crises in Cameroon. He is the only one who can find a solution. Since he has refused to solve the problem therefore he has defacto abdicated from his functions so he should go right to the end of that logic and resign from his position.  

Interviewed By Francis Ekongang Nzante (EDEV Web News), Frederique Tarkang(BBC Afrique), Donna Suffo (Le Messager), Wifah Jennyhans (The Sun), Nchong Christantus(The Horizon)

Les Gens Du Cameroun/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ +237678401408/=237696896001