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Jun 25 2012

Cameroon Works With Japan, Islamic Development Bank to Boost Rice Output -Official

Monday, Jun 25, 2012

   By Emmanuel Tumanjong 

Special to Dow Jones Newswires

YAOUNDE, Cameroon--Cameroon is working with the Japanese government and the Islamic Development Bank to introduce high-yield strains of rice as part of efforts to increase the nation's rice output, a senior government official said Sunday.

The Cameroon government hopes to increase rice production by 36,000 tons annually by the year 2014, Jean Claude Eko'o Akouafane, secretary-general at the Ministry of Agriculture, said on state radio Sunday.

"Our mission is to grow rice throughout the country to cover the huge demand we're presently faced with," he said.

The move is part of the government's plan to reduce the country's reliance on imports by increasing rice production to 750,000 tons a year by 2020, up from 150,000 tons in 2011, Mr. Akouafane said.

Cameroon imports more than 500,000 tons of rice annually--mostly from Thailand, China and Pakistan--to meet domestic demand of at least 650,000 tons, government data showed.

Write to Emmanuel Tumanjong at tnuel@yahoo.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

25-06-12 0301GMT


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