The European Union has announced plans to invest about FCFA 16bilion to boost the production of fruits and vegetables in Cameroon, Cameroon-Info.Net reports.
The plan was revealed in Douala on 16th May 2017. It is contained in a programme known as Fit for the Market.
The investment intended to help struggling local producers will span five years.
For the effective take-off of the programme, beneficiaries would need to meet some conditions. They are expect to ensure quality as well as quality production, respect standards and extend the progress made at international level to local level.
The EU intends to make Cameroonian producers competitive both at home and abroad.
The EU also expects sanitary conditions to be taken seriously.
Fruits produced in Cameroon include, but not limited to, mangoes, bananas, pineapples and oranges.
Huckleberry and cabbages are among the top vegetables cultivated in Cameroon.
The EU-Cameroon partnership has always faced criticisms from some pundits who believe the relationship is quite questionable. The EU is a mighty team of 27 nations while Cameroon is a single, little nation.
But the EU has always defended its position, saying that it is a win-win relationship. Most importantly, it tends to brag about how much it invests in Cameroon and Africa, in general.
Recently during a conference in Yaoundé, the leader of the EU delegation Francoise Collet argued that the only equity could explain the partnership, adding that the EU was deeply assisting Cameroon.
She also revealed that Cameroon's underdevelopment was due to bad governance.