Cameroon: “Cocoa certification may constitute a barrier to Market Access”
By Shout-Africa Cameroon Correspondent – Newly appointed officials of the Cameroon National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) were commissioned into their functions on August 12. The directors, sub-directors and branch managers were appointed following a May 28, 2010 Board of Directors Meeting which took place in Kribi.
Michael Ndoping, Managing Director of the Cameroon National Cocoa and Coffee Board, NCCB
The installation ceremony, which took place at the NCCB’s Laboratory for Quality Control and Cup Tasting Center in Akwa, Douala, was an innovation considering that until now the Board has been operating from Douala, whereas its mission involves monitoring and accompanying all the stakeholders of the cocoa chain all over the country. To pre-empt its activities nation-wide, new branches have been created in Yaounde, Kumba and Bafoussam while control posts have also been created in Bamenda, Mamfe, Nkongsamba, Bafia, Abong-Bang and Ebolowa.
The aim is to bring NCCB’s services as close to the farmers as possible. Prior to this event, 66 produce inspectors and controllers took the oath of office at the Douala High Court in Bonanjo on August 10 ahead of their deployment to the regions of the country. In the following interview granted Shout-Africa Cameroon Correspondent, Michael Ndoping, NCCB Managing Director, discusses issues that hinge on the place of Cameroon cocoa on the international market, innovations within the board, among others. Excerpts:
Shout-Africa: The wave of appointments and the creation of branches is an innovation in NCCB; Why the innovation at this moment?
Michael Ndoping: The Board of Directors of the National Cocoa and Coffee Board held on May 28, 2011, in Kribi and approved our strategic plan of action which covers five years; that is, from 2011-2015. In the same line, the Board approved a new organizational chart for the NCCB and approved the appointment of directors. So I have just completed the exercise with the appointment of sub-directors and branch managers. It’s an innovation indeed Until now we have been operating from Douala, whereas our mission involves monitoring and accompanying all the stakeholders, in particular the farmers. who are predominantly rural dwellers. We have created branches in Kumba, Bafoussam, and in Yaounde, and control points in Bamenda, Mamfe, Nkongsamba, Bafia, Abong-Bang and Ebolowa. The idea is to bring our services as close to the farmers as possible. We cannot cover the entire nation, but we are going progressively and as our means increase we will eventually cover the national territory.
Some NCCB officials (Including staff commissioned into their functions)
What can you say as regards the situation of cocoa production in Cameroon and the quality issue you have all this while being tackling?
At the level of production, there has been a consistent increase since 2006. The cocoa sector is on a very positive trend. We are witnessing new farms and younger generation of farmers, and we are also noticing a new interest in investment in cocoa farming and this is reflecting on the yields which is improving. The official statistics are 220,000 tonnes for the 2010-2011 cocoa season, which is a huge increase compared to last year which was 190 000 tonnes. Concerning production, a lot has been achieved and the results speak for themselves.
Concerning quality, I can tell you straight away that every cocoa bean produced in Cameroon is sold. So at that level, quality is not an issue. But, is this the full story? That’s where the debate lies. Is it enough to produce market-quality cocoa and sell at a give-away price or produce high quality cocoa and sell at a premium? What matters to me is not volumes but the money the farmers make and the returns on the national economy. If quality can improve the farmers’ income it’s about time we start thinking about quality issues beyond the bean-quality criteria.
Beside quality, what else do consumers demand?
These days health and environmental considerations quality concepts have taken different dimensions. We have the economic, social and environmental dimensions to consider. All these are issues that go into the quality of an origin. You might produce the best quality of cocoa but if it is produced with child labour or is found to be environmentally destructive, you will have a serious stain on your origin. Another issue today is that of certification, which is taking prominence with the consumers. Certification might constitute a barrier to market access if we are not careful. Our objective is to make sure that when certification becomes a market access criterion, we should be ready. We want to put in place enabling strategies for certification that will make it possible for us to market certified cocoa in the nearest future.
Can we say with confidence that cocoa produced in Cameroon is competing favourably on the international market?
Of course, yes! If it were not, we will not be where we are today. There is hardly any cocoa bean lying around for lack of buyer. Cameroon cocoa has a positive attribute – its natural colour. This is a gift of nature and it is unique to Cameroon. People who buy cocoa from other origins need our cocoa to blend in order to give it a beautiful look. That makes our cocoa competitive, but like I said before that is no longer enough; certification is coming. We might have the best colour, the best beans but if we do not start implementing certification measures we may find ourselves without a buyer. The Netherlands, for example, which happens to be our main port of destination is saying that by the year 2020 they shall only buy certified cocoa.
