The North West Livestock Development Fund (CDENO) has once again reaffirmed its role as a pillar of support to livestock farmers in the region with the distribution of livestock inputs aimed at boosting production and strengthening food security.
The event, presided over by North West Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique, marked the fourth edition of CDENO’s mass distribution exercise. This year’s edition was particularly significant for its inclusiveness, as persons with disabilities were identified among the beneficiaries, a gesture described by CDENO Director Mbah Shupong Michael as proof that “disability is not inability.”
“Today we are placing at the disposal of farmers 25,500 day-old chicks, 100 piglets, 25 tons of animal feed, cotton, Brachiaria seeds, barbed wire, cement, salt, and some 500 one-month-old brooded chicks for persons with special needs,” the CDENO Director said, stressing that most of these inputs are locally produced at CDENO’s hatchery and feed mill.
He reminded farmers that the products are subsidized by the government, urging them to make official requests directly from CDENO to avoid exploitation by middlemen.
The director highlighted that the decision to shift the distribution exercise from December to September was strategic, as it coincides with the peak brooding period, allowing farmers to meet the high end-of-year market demand.
He also pointed to CDENO’s wider support, ranging from infrastructure and capacity building to health protection and animal production since its creation in 1974.
Governor Lele Lafrique praised CDENO’s initiative, emphasizing its impact on food availability and affordability. “Since this activity started in 2022, its success has been visible in the constant availability of chicken in the market at moderate prices,” the Governor said, encouraging farmers to use the inputs judiciously.
He also called on beneficiaries to act as peace ambassadors, noting that “through you, His Excellency the President of the Republic is still stretching his fatherly hands to those of our children in the bushes to come back and join us in building our beloved region and nation.”
The inclusive dimension of this year’s exercise drew special appreciation from representatives of associations of persons with disabilities. Nogning Armel, Board Chair of the Coordinating Unit of the Association of Persons with Disability in the North West Region, described the support as life-changing.
“This is going to improve my livelihood and income-generating activity. Persons with disabilities have been seriously affected by the socio-political crisis, and such moves will ameliorate our situation,” she said.
Similarly, Sunday Ghali, President of the Special Needs Entrepreneur Group, noted that the donation would not only provide financial empowerment but also help families with nutritional needs and back-to-school expenses.
“We really appreciate the government and CDENO, and we pray that this initiative continues so that many more persons with disabilities can benefit,” he added.
The distribution, which comes on the heels of CDENO’s support to over 3,000 livestock and fisheries farmers under the Emergency Project to Combat Food Crisis (PULCCA), is part of Cameroon’s broader strategy to boost local production under its import-substitution policy.
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