Dr. Nick Ngwanyam, CEO and Founder of St. Louis Clinic and University Institute, is widely respected as a trained surgeon, educator, and social reformer. In recent years, however, he has also become a forthright public intellectual, unafraid to challenge economic policies he believes undermine Cameroon’s long-term development.
In a recent intervention, Dr. Ngwanyam delivered a sharp critique of the _proposed export_ of raw cassava chips to India, describing it as a deeply flawed strategy that benefits foreign industries while impoverishing local farmers and consumers. According to Dr. Ngwanyam, the cassava trade exposes a painful contradiction in Cameroon’s economy.
Cassava is grown in relative abundance across the country and forms a staple of daily nutrition, yet it is not transformed industrially fir local needs. To seek to export it in its rawest form at prices that barely reward the farmer is suicide.
He questioned how much a producer can truly earn per kilogram of cassava chips sold abroad, noting that on local markets a kilogram of garri already costs more than a kilogram of cassava chips exported to India. To him, this alone proves that Cameroon is exporting value rather than creating it at home.
Walking through Douala, Dr. Ngwanyam pointed to the proliferation of large blue plastic drums, often around one hundred litres in size, imported from Asia, particularly India. These containers, he explained, are imported filled with ethanol produced by fermenting and distilling cassava powder.
The process itself is not inherently complicated, but he warned that distillation requires strict technical control, as the first fraction to emerge is methanol, a highly toxic substance capable of causing blindness or death.
Despite these risks, the imported ethanol finds its way into the Cameroonian market, where it is used as the base ingredient for a wide range of whiskies. These spirits are flavoured, colored, attractively bottled, and sold locally at very high prices.
Dr. Ngwanyam expressed concern that some of this alcohol is repackaged into small plastic sachets and sold cheaply, particularly to commercial motorbike riders, contributing to reckless behaviour, road accidents, and public health problems. He questioned why the very producers who profit from selling these whiskies to Cameroonians are rarely seen consuming the same products themselves. For him, this raises uncomfortable questions about quality, safety, and exploitation.
Beyond alcohol, Dr. Ngwanyam emphasized that cassava has enormous untapped potential within Cameroon. He argued that the country should be producing its own ethanol locally, both to stop the massive importation of alcohol and to retain billions of francs within the national economy. Some of this ethanol, he added, could even serve as fuel for motorbikes with simple mechanical modifications, offering an alternative energy source. Cassava flour could also be blended with wheat to make bread, puff-puff, and other baked goods, significantly reducing Cameroon’s dependence on imported wheat. The same composite flour could support the local production of noodles and spaghetti, replacing the imported brands that currently dominate the market. Vinegar and numerous other industrial products could equally be derived from cassava if the right processing infrastructure existed.
At the center of Dr. Ngwanyam’s vision is the need to prioritize garri production. He called for the construction of modern garri-making machines and for these to be made available on credit to young farmers and entrepreneurs.
With proper organization, he believes Cameroon could easily produce enough garri to feed its entire population while creating jobs and stabilizing food prices. Only after meeting domestic needs and developing local industries, he argued, should Cameroon consider exporting surplus cassava products.
Dr. Ngwanyam challenged the Ministry of Commerce to provide transparency on key figures, including the market price of garri per kilogram, the export price of cassava chips per kilogram, and the actual income received by farmers. He also raised concerns about export revenues historically retained in foreign treasuries, particularly in France, questioning whether this practice has genuinely changed.
In a provocative conclusion, Dr. Ngwanyam proposed what he described as a more intelligent approach to trade with India. If cassava chips must be exported, he suggested, Cameroon should avoid cash transactions and instead engage in barter trade, exchanging cassava for Indian rice. Such an arrangement, he argued, would help conserve foreign exchange, stabilize food supplies, and reduce pressure on national finances. With a touch of irony, he remarked that while Cameroon is blessed with fertile land, abundant rainfall, and a youthful population, its greatest misfortune seems to be an inability to grow rice in sufficient quantities.
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