Dr Nick Ngwanyam, founder and Chief Executive Officer of St Louis Clinic and University Institute (SLUI), is best known as a prolific and highly experienced surgeon. In recent years, he has also become an influential social media reformer, using public platforms to challenge policy choices and stimulate debate on national development. His latest intervention focuses on a growing concern for many households which is the food prices, food security, and the wisdom of exporting cassava products while local markets remain under pressure.
At the core of Dr Nick’s argument is a troubling question: can Cameroonians still feed themselves, and is the country prepared to withstand a food shock in the event of a major disruption? He notes that food insecurity is no longer a distant or theoretical risk but a lived reality for many families.
According to his observations, food is currently cheaper in Yaoundé and Douala than in Bamenda, a situation he links directly to the ongoing conflict in the North West and South West Regions.
The war, he argues, has severely disrupted agricultural production and broken distribution chains, making it harder and more expensive to move food from farms to markets. As a result, communities already affected by insecurity are paying some of the highest prices for basic staples.
Dr Nick Ngwanyam recalls that gari recently sold for between 775 and 820 FCFA per kilogram in Mutengene, a striking figure when compared to average incomes. To further illustrate the situation, he personally collected food price data from Carrefour Market in Bobamoussadi, Douala, on January 5, 2026.
The prices revealed a steady rise in the cost of everyday foods. A 25-kilogram bag of imported rice sold for 14,750 FCFA, translating to about 590 FCFA per kilogram. White or yellow gari was priced at 1,200 FCFA per kilogram, while tiny yams reached 1,300 FCFA per kilogram. Sweet potatoes and pumpkins were both selling at 650 FCFA per kilogram.
Locally produced cassava flour costs 850 FCFA per kilogram, while imported cassava flour is significantly more expensive, selling at 1,100 FCFA for 500 grams and 2,200 FCFA for one kilogram. Notably, the price of raw cassava was not displayed at the time, an absence that in itself raised questions about market stability.
These local prices, Dr. Nick Ngwanyam argues, become even more concerning when compared with export figures. Drawing on international market estimates for dried cassava chips exported from Cameroon on a free-on-board basis, and using an exchange rate of 560 FCFA to the US dollar, he notes that in 2023 cassava chips sold at about 595 FCFA per kilogram, rising slightly to around 622 FCFA per kilogram in 2024.
In other words, cassava destined for export is priced lower than what many Cameroonians currently pay for cassava-based foods at home.
This disparity fuels Dr Nick’s central warning. He questions the logic of exporting dried cassava chips to large markets such as India when domestic supply remains tight and prices are high. For him, the issue is not opposition to exports in principle, but timing and priorities. Exporting food while local markets are undersupplied, he says, risks deepening hardship and undermining national food security.
Beyond pricing, Dr. Nick Ngwanyam points to signs of declining food quality as another indicator of stress in the system. He cites the example of myondo in Douala, lamenting that for 1,000 FCFA consumers increasingly return home with little more than empty leaves. To him, this reflects broader problems in agricultural processing, value addition and market regulation.
Looking ahead, Dr. Nick Ngwanyam argues that the solution lies in transforming agriculture through mechanization and modern food processing. He believes Cameroon must first produce abundantly to meet local food needs and supply raw materials for domestic industries. Only after achieving this level of self-sufficiency should the country export surplus products, initially to Europe and North America, and only later to markets such as India.
He situates agriculture within a wider development vision that also includes construction and information and communication technologies. Together, he believes these sectors can generate between one and two million jobs annually for Cameroonian youths starting in 2026, laying the foundation for a strong and sustainable middle class.
Dr Nick Ngwanyam’s message is ultimately a call for national reflection. By combining firsthand market observations with export economics and long-term development thinking, he urges policymakers to place food security at the center of economic strategy. In his view, a country that cannot reliably feed its population must first fix its domestic production systems before looking outward to global markets.
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