Agroecology and installation of an irrigation system for climate change resilience
The project is run by a joint initiative group (GIC) called Activités Commerciales et Entrepreneuriales du Cameroun (GIC-ACEC), set up in 2005.
An initiative of GIC ACEC ( Groupe des Initiatives Communes des Activités Commerciales et Entrepreneuriales du Cameroun)
Overview of the project
In 2022, with a view to making its contribution to increasing the quantity and quality of food products in Cameroonian households, the GIC ACEC, through its members, acquired a 4-hectare plot for growing maize. The cost of living has become increasingly expensive due to the economic stress caused by COVID2019 and the war in Ukraine. As a result, a large part of the population does not have enough money to buy food, the cost of which is rising year on year. Not only are the costs of foodstuffs rising (the average cost of maize has tripled in 15 years), but we are also witnessing low productivity, one of the causes of which is climate change. By way of example, the GIC began its first maize-growing campaign in August 2022; unfortunately, the rains were unstable and stopped much earlier than expected; as a result, the forecast yield fell by almost ¾. For this reason, the GIC opted to seek funding to set up an irrigated system on this 4 ha plot. This will make it possible to produce an average of 32 tonnes of maize per season and to run 3 seasons a year.
The aim of the project is therefore to reduce the vulnerability of maize production to climate change in the GIC field by setting up a 4 ha irrigation system and a sustainable agroecology system.
Ongoing research
The company plans to install an irrigation system on 2 October 2023. The installation will take a month, with completion scheduled for 2 November.
Acquiring and installing an irrigation system to cope with any shortages of rainfall
To combat climate change, we’re going to install an irrigation system that will enable us to grow maize at any time of year and maximise yields. To do this, we’re going to dig a borehole, buy the irrigation equipment, install the irrigation system and maintain it.
– Irrigation system installed and operational on the 4 ha
– Around 32 tonnes of maize produced and sold at markets in Yaoundé and the surrounding area, regardless of climate trends, by the end of the project.
– Providing people with quality food products
– Provide communities with quality pastoral products
– Provide communities with quality seeds
– Providing quality fruit
Our company was selected in 2021 by UNDP Cameroon as one of 150 innovative companies under its Rapid Financing Facility (RFF) programme - Strengthening Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises for Resilience and Economic Recovery in the face of COVID- 19 Cameroon. She was given equipment to relaunch her business project.
About the
organisation
organisation
The project is run by a joint initiative group (GIC) called Activités Commerciales et Entrepreneuriales du Cameroun (GIC-ACEC), set up in 2005.
For more than 3 years, this GIC/ACEC has been developing agro-sylvo-pastoral activities on the outskirts of Yaoundé, in order to produce and make available to Cameroonians quality agro-pastoral products, namely maize, plantain bananas, macabo, pigs and chickens.
Other partners / supporters
As part of the IAG’s activities, we have signed a number of contracts with NGOs, including AWF (African Wildlife Foundation), SAILD (Service d’Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement) and OCD (Organisation pour la Conservation et le Développement), to supply our goods and services.