Mar. 26 – How to improve crop productivity and food processing, relaunch the internal market, and open to export certain quality products? These are the main objectives of the framework agreement that brings together the University of Florence and Cameroon, through the Department of Agricultural Science, Food Production and the Environment (Dispaa), in a project funded by the government of Cameroon and the World Bank. The agreement was recently presented in Florence by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Cameroon, Essimi Menye, in the presence of the Dean of the University of Florence, Alberto Tesi (both pictured). The investment and development project for agricultural markets Pidma wants to support the processing of certain crops (cassava, maize, and sorghum), currently characterized by low performance and subsistence-oriented. The project seeks to include a wide area of the country as well as different local communities: four areas are involved, where the main production is cassava, and about 30,000 small farmers and 300 cooperatives. The direct beneficiaries, for population density and community, are 120,000 people, of which at least 70% are women. “The first step focuses on enhancing the production for 2,000 hectares, in terms of both yield and quality of the products – explains Vincenzo Vecchio, Professor of Agronomy and Crop Science, and Scientific Director of the Agreement -We expect, at the end of the trail, an increase in quantity between 100 and 150%. But we also strive to improve quality and to allow biofunctional products, such as gluten-free ones, to be sold on international markets.” The Dispaa Department will conduct laboratory research, field trials and scientific-technical assistance along the processing chain. The memorandum includes a scientific collaboration with the University of Cameroon. “While working on production improvement through sustainable techniques, on the rationalization of crops, and on the use of equipment for product processing – continued Vecchio – we want to explore cassava flour applications for child nutrition or for people with gluten sensitivity. We also want to promote among the participating cooperatives the use of related technology. The project, with its results and products, is in perfect harmony with the objectives of Expo 2015.” (Red)
