Announcement of Cameroon Food Security Project on July 5, 1991

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE iWorld Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.* Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 92/2 Contact: Mary Lou Ingram Tel: (202) 473-4619 CAMEROON: FOOD SECURITY PROJECT The following is information on a projfect approved by the World Bank's Board. DATE: July 5, 1991 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT: World Bank loan: $23 million. The loan is for 20 years, including five years of grace, with a variable interest:rate, currently 7.73 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.25 percent on the undisbursed balance. TOTAL COST: $35.3 million OTHER FINANCING: Government of Cameroon, $1.8 million; Beneficiaries, $3.6 million; Aerial Pest Control Unit (APCU), $1.4 million; Municipalities, $1.7 million; Japan, $3.8 million IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: Ministry of Agriculture ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1999 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The objectives of the Food Security Project are to: (a) support growth and mobilize the participation of underprivileged groups in the economic recovery process; and (b) improve food security by creating employment opportunities; raising the purchasing power of disadvantaged groups in rural areas, especially women; reducing the effect of locust attacks on food production through the strengthening of the Aerial Pest Control Unit (APCU) Crop Protection Service; increasing efficiency in marketing and storage of foodstuffs through institutional support; and improving feeding and dietary practices through a pilot nutrition education program. The project includes: (a) self-help initiatives by community groups in micro-projects, such as investments in commercial cash generating activities, non-commercial productive activi- ties, and infrastructure projects in the entire country, except for the Northwest Province, plus an emphasis on village storage in the extreme north, training, and instutitional support to the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) in all provinces to assist project implementation; (b) locust control in the north and extreme north provinces over a three-year period; (c) establishment of an early warning system for drought and other causes of food shortfalls, combined with a market information system over three years; (d) construction and renovation of market facilities in urban and rural communes; (e) development and implementa- tion of a three-year pilot nutrition education program for high risk groups (children under five years and pregnant and lactating women) in the extreme nor ern, eastern, and western provinces and in the urban slums of Doual4ity; and (f) formulation of a national nutritional education strategy.