THE WHOLE PROGRAMME !
INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS WORTH MORE THAN 70 BILLION! A GALA MATCH BETWEEN CAMEROON AND NIGERIA! AN ELECTION OF MISS BANANA-PLANTAIN! A SYMPOSIUM ON MAJOR OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BANANA-PLANTAIN VALUE CHAIN !
Placed under the Very High Patronage of the President of the Republic H.E. Paul BIYA, and under the effective Presidency of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Doctor Joseph DION NGUTE, Personal Representative of the President of the Republic, Head of State, the second edition of the International Banana-Plantain Festival South-West 2023, which is in line with the objectives of the National Development Strategy SND30, kicks off its activities with a bang in Douala on 26 November with an unprecedented Show by the former Indomitable Lions led by Samuel ETOO FILS and the Nigerian Supers Eagels led by Jay-Jay OKOCHA on the 28th and 29th November. The Festival, organised by the BPSC under the leadership of Samuel TONY OBAM BIKOUE, the National President, with the institutional support of the South West Regional Assembly under the leadership of Executive President ZACCHEUS ELANGO BAKOMA and the President of the House of Chiefs, Chief ATEM EBAKO, will culminate on the 30th November with the opening ceremony of the Festival’s Investors’ Village and the Cameroon-Nigeria Gala Match.”Remake of the AFCON 2000 final, chaired by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, at Limbé Stadium.
The “Banana-Festival” summit will see the signing of more than 10 investment agreements on the 1st of December at the Mountain Hotel in Buea, totalling more than 70 billion CFA francs for over 05 years in the banana-plantain value chains in the South-West Region, an international symposium on the opportunities of the banana-plantain value chains at the University of Buea, and an inimitable banana-plantain exhibition and sales fair in Bangem on the 2nd of December; and an unmissable Banana-Plantain Exhibition and Sales Fair, in addition to the birth of the first agri-farm in Bangem on the 02nd of December.
The President of the Republic, Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA himself, has agreed to place the second edition of the International Banana-Plantain Festival under his Very High Patronage; and the Prime Minister, Head of Government Chief Doctor Joseph DION NGUTÉ, Personal Representative of the President of the Republic, Head of State, will preside over this International Banana-Plantain Fruit Festival; an event sponsored since the first edition by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÏROBÉ.
This International Festival, founded by the National President of the Association of Actors of the Banana-Plantain Sector, the young Captain of Agricultural Industries, Knight of Cameroonian Agricultural Merit and Ambassador of Youth Connect Samuel Tony Obam Bikoué, beyond its festive aspect, where we will relive the best memories of the confrontations between Samuel Eto’o and Jay-Jay Okocha, this Festival is of major economic, social and tourist importance for Cameroon.
In the National Development Strategy SND30 defined by President Paul BIYA, Banana-Plantain is one of the Priority Growth Sectors, and the Government’s objective is to achieve 10 million tonnes of annual production. The National President of the BPSC, Tony Obam, has added the following cardinal objectives to this objective of sovereignty: ensuring competitiveness through the banking of all the value chains in the sector, i.e. nurserymen, diet producers, processors and marketers; the corollary of this competitiveness is the expansion of the Import-Substitution system, so that products derived from the banana-plantain sector have the same price as imported products such as wheat flour, biscuits, baby food, wicks, whiskies, red wine, etc. The other objective is to professionalise the sector.
The National President of the Banana-Plantain Sector intends to make this priority fruit for growth a matter of national conscience, in the same way that the emergence of the country has been made a “national cause” by the Head of State.
The Banana-Plantain industry has been on the rise for the past two (02) years as a result of the post-Covid19 crisis and the Russo-Ukranian conflict, under the aegis of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÏROBE, the whole of the Government, and with the technical and financial support of powerful international investors. Banana-plantain should enable Cameroon not only to guarantee its food self-sufficiency, but also to seize the economic opportunities created by these two global crises. To achieve the major objectives of the NDS30, the National President of the BPSC has introduced the innovative concepts of “Agri-Business”, “Precision Agriculture” and “Recruitment of new players in the Sector”. The BPSC has set up a solid ecosystem framed by an International Reference Incubation Centre for Agri-Business and Precision Agriculture in Kribi, where the Prefect of the Ocean, Mr NOUHOU BELLO, watches over this jewel of the “Agricultural Revolution”, the temple of agropastoral incubation in Central Africa; Credit Institutions such as Unics Plc Bank, Insurers such as Onyx Assurance, Fertile Ground are part of the BPSC Ecosystem which leads to Financing Windows ranging from 10 million CFA francs to 250 million CFA francs after incubation. This financing consists of repayable loans from the 22 billion ADB-financed Credit Facilitation Fund for the Development of Agricultural Value Chains and the 200 billion State Portfolio Guarantee Fund for Agricultural SMEs.
The Investors’ Festival
In addition to the funds made available by the Cameroonian government through the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul MOTAZE, the FBPC is also raising funds internationally and nationally with major investors such as the American firm Fertile Ground, headed by CEO Bill Cannon, the “Top Sponsor” of the International Banana-Plantain Festival.
After the success of the festival in the Southern Region, having realised that plantain is a cross-cutting crop, and in order to anticipate any administrative red tape in the Southern Region, not only did the National President of the BPSC involve the highest levels of government, but investment agreements in the South-West Region were also signed in the presence of 07 sectoral ministries, meaning that the young captain of the agricultural industry, Tony Obam, is in a hurry to invest at the speed of light. Here are just a few examples of these agreements, which will generate billions, ensure the competitiveness of the sector, increase banana-plantain exports to Nigeria and serve as a basis for the development of the region’s agricultural sector. to the import-substitution policy instituted by the Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA
The agreement with the Port Autonome de Douala, which manages the Port of Limbé, will enable the port company, which is expertly managed by CEO Cyrus Ngo’o, to fulfil its social responsibility by financing the incubation of young students and local residents in the South-West and Littoral, as well as facilitating the export of banana plantain and its derivatives, and importing inputs, fertilisers and agricultural machinery from the Port Autonome de Douala to reduce the arduous nature of the work. In this way, the Port of Douala and the Banana-Plantain Sector are putting themselves at the heart of the fight against youth unemployment and underemployment, while creating the conditions to ensure that, by 2030, fresh Banana-Plantain will be Cameroon’s leading export product from the Port of Douala.
The agreement with DFARMA, a global company, is aimed at the international marketing of processed plantain bananas.
The agreement with EXOTIC GROUP of the USA is invaluable in the search for international funding to sponsor Value Chains.
The Turks from CAMAGRI LTD have signed a contract for the construction of a multi-purpose packaging unit for banana and plantain products in the south-west of the country. Yes! the products of Cameroonian players will also be packaged like WHITE products! CAMAGRI LTD will also be supplying multi-tasking agricultural drones for spraying herbicides, a monitoring system for large farms, small processing units with warehouses, and solar energy.
FERTILE GROUND – CERES will be there to popularise and make accessible irrigation over vast areas and greenhouse cultivation, an essential tool for nurserymen to produce high-productivity banana-Plantain plants in industrial quantities.
Thanks to the American company WALMART, Cameroonian plantain bananas will be distributed in supermarkets all over the world, because WALMART, with whom the FBPC will sign agreements in Buea, is the world leader in distribution.
DAGRO AGRICULTURAL MACHINES will come from Turkey to set up an industrial assembly unit for agricultural machinery and all kinds of equipment for opening up agricultural tracks in the South-West for the sub-regional market.
In a nutshell, the BPSC and its partners will be signing around ten agreements to encourage the transfer of technology over the long term, including agreements with national governments such as the Observatoire Nationale de la Jeunesse (ONJ – National Youth Observatory) to promote the biometric youth card, with all its advantages, and funding for young people aged 18 to 35 in the South-West Region, with a view to intensifying President Paul BIYA’s commitment to setting up agri-businesses.
Cameroon Customs, like FECAFOOT, will also be signing an agreement with the BPSC, an agreement rich in advantages for the successful retraining of retired customs officers in the banana-plantain sector. More importantly, Customs is committed to facilitating export and import procedures for those involved, and to training them in good customs practices so that Cameroon bananas can flood the world.
The latest agreement, of the utmost importance and with repercussions in the tens of billions, will be signed in Bangem. This is a tripartite agreement between FBPC, FERTILE GROUND and the Bangem town council, to set up a special Banana-Plantain Value Chain AGRI-FARM to eradicate post-harvest losses.
The 70 billion CFA francs targeted by National President Tony Obam at the South-West Festival are not just a figment of his imagination. It is a concrete reality.
Douala: The Festival before the Festival
The South-West 2023 International Banana-Plantain Festival is a major economic, cultural and tourist event. Without taking into account the millions of television viewers who will be watching the event over 06 days on all CRTV channels, an estimated 350,000 Cameroonians will be taking part in at least one of the activities of this 2nd edition. That’s why Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, has been chosen as the logistical base for the 28 nationalities expected in the South West. Investors from Turkey, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, France, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire, who are the most numerous, will be welcomed in Douala. The Supers Eagels and the strong Nigerian delegation will set foot on Cameroonian soil in Douala. They will be welcomed by thousands of their compatriots, proof of Cameroon’s hospitality; the Yabassi camp in Douala will be abuzz with excitement, because Cameroon and Nigeria are first and foremost twin brothers whose destinies are linked and who all eat banana and plantain with appetite. The Indomitable Lions of the Diaspora will be landing in Douala. And it is in Douala that the National President will hold meetings with the leaders of the Nigerian community in Cameroon.
The National President of the BPSC is therefore setting up a Task-Force in Douala on 26 November, responsible for the specific activities of the Banana-Plantain Festival.
In Douala, while investors will be meeting with certain business circles from 26 to 29 November, Nigeria’s Supers Eagels and Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions will be putting on a show. The highlight will be the eponymous city’s Port Autonome. Here, CEO Cyrus NGO’O and focal point Technical Adviser Bertrand Ferdinand OWONA NDI will roll out the red carpet for the big stars of Nigerian and Cameroonian football: pre-match press conference, company visit, meetings with the highest authorities in the Littoral region, traditional chiefs and mayors. With the support of major Nigerian investors, the Supers Eagels of Jay-Jay OKOCHA and Peter RUFAI will be carrying out charity and social activities in Douala, and will be holding a training session open to the public and the media at the Bépanda omnisport annex stadium.
The Indomitable Lions, led by pan-Africanist patriot Samuel Eto’o, will set up their base camp in Limbé and hold a training session open to the public and media at the Limbé stadium annex.
Through his voice, on behalf of the six million Cameroonians who practise an activity linked to the Banana-Plantain Value Chain, the National President, Captain of agricultural industries Samuel Tony OBAM BIKOUE says THANK YOU A THOUSAND TIMES TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC HEAD OF STATE MR PAUL BIYA FOR HAVING ORGANISED THE 2021 CAN CAN IN CAMEROON AGAINST WIND AND TIDE, BECAUSE TODAY THE REMAKE OF THE FINAL OF THE CAN 2000 CAMEROON NIGERIA IS POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE SPORTS, HOTEL AND ROAD INFRASTRUCTURES INHERITED FROM THE CAN 2021 ORGANIZED IN CAMEROON. LONG LIVE THE VISIONARY POPOL, A GREAT CONSUMER OF BANANA PLANTAIN!
For the National President of the FBPC, the vision is to export thousands of tonnes of Cameroonian plantain bananas to Nigeria for sale to Nigeria’s 300 million potential consumers. The aim is also to earn Cameroon foreign currency for Nigeria, which does not use the CFA franc. It should be remembered that the young Captain of Agricultural Industries, Samuel Tony OBAM BIKOUE, has linked the BPSC with the Nigerian AFTEL Group of former President OLESEGUN OBASANJO for the financing of players in the Value Chain. Some former Supers Eagles are among them.
After Douala, we’ll be seeing these stars again at the “Match de Gueule” at Limbé Stadium and, of course, at the Soirées de fraternité organised by the South-West Regional Assembly and the BPSC, co-organisers of the second edition of the Fête Internationale de la Banane-Plantain.
This is an opportunity to express the great gratitude of the BPSC and, surely, of the entire Cameroonian Government, for the titanic and gargantuan work carried out by President ZACCHEUS BAKOMA ELANGO and Chief ATEM EBAKO throughout the year to ensure the expected success of the Banana-Fiesta.
The Celebration of Stars
Having perceived the relevance of this project, the State Stars and Football Stars have decided to associate their image and their precious names with the full success of this Festival. The Star of the Stars, President Paul BIYA, has consequently decided that the Festival should be under his Very High Patronage; this is a Great Opportunity offered by Cameroon’s First Farmer in his process of rebuilding the beautiful South-West Region.
The Gold Star: the Prime Minister Head of Government Chief Doctor Joseph DION NGUTÉ has decided to personally preside over the Rendezvous on behalf of the Head of State in Limbé, Buéa and Banguem. The PM presided over important working sessions at the seat of Government to ensure that this event took place under the best possible conditions. To this end, Chief Doctor Joseph DION NGUTÉ has set up a unit to monitor this major activity. The Prime Minister’s Special Adviser No 2, Minister Chief Dr BLESSED OKOLE NDOPKWE, is coordinating this monitoring unit.
The great Star, factotum and secular arm of President Paul BIYA to implement second-generation agriculture, MINADER Gabriel MBAÏROBE, since the 1st edition of Ebolowa-Mvangan 2022, has spent a whole year supervising all the stakeholders in this festival. The focal point for the International Banana-Plantain Festival at MINADER, Engineer General Simon Alain MESSI, Director of DOPA, is keeping a close eye on the success of this major fair, reporting to MINADER minute by minute.
Tribute to His Excellency the Governor of the South-West region Bernard OKALIA BILAI, President Paul BIYA’s great star for maintaining order and security in the South-West, for his committed involvement in the administrative and security framework throughout the year until the end.
Cameroon’s audio-visual star, CRTV Director General Charles NDONGO, has adopted a vast media promotion programme for the event, which will culminate in live broadcasting of the festival opening ceremony and the Gala match at Limbé Stadium for 4 hours by CRTV, CRTV Sport and CRTV News. CRTV is truly “at the heart of the Nation” through the Banane-Plantain.
World football superstar Samuel Eto’o made it clear: “I’m going to play! Alongside Roger Milla and all the Indomitable Lions who have written the finest pages of Cameroonian football. President Samuel Eto’o Fils is not just going to play.
On the evening of 02 December 2023, when he will witness the handover from the South-West to the Region hosting the third edition,
the Diamond star of the Banana-Plantain Sector Tony OBAM, will be able to say to himself: “I have supported President Paul Biya’s message in the best possible way, that banana plantain should become an issue of national awareness; as he has never ceased to hammer home, “let’s consume what we produce and consume what we produce”: banana plantain is resolutely at the service of the SND30.
The Director of Communication
and Sovereignty Activities of the FBPC,
Siméon AVA,
Senior Journalist
Tel: 677 24 62 50 / 699 81 58 18
