MINRESI/French Development Agency cooperation: 3rd generation Debt Reduction and Development Contract in prospect
The Secretary General of MINRESI received in audience a delegation from the French Development Agency (AFD) led by Christian Fusillier, Head of the Agriculture, Rural Development and Biodiversity Division (ARB) at AFD headquarters in Paris.
In her opening remarks, the Secretary General of MINRESI, Madame Rébecca madeleine Ebelle Etamè, welcomed the delegation led by Christian Fusillier and comprising the Regional Directors of the Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).
She then expressed the Minister’s wish to see the solid and fruitful scientific cooperation between MINRESI and the Agence Française de Développement further intensified with the desired eligibility of MINRESI in the third-generation C2D. Mrs. Ebellé also underlined Dr. Madeleine Tchuinté’s firm determination to do everything in her power to make a reality of the creation of a sub-regional Biosciences Center for the Environment in the Nkolbisson district of Yaoundé, where a site is already available and feasibility studies are underway. In addition to MINRESI, the Center will benefit from the combined contributions of players such as AFD, CIRAD and IRD, and its focus will be on the Congo Basin and the Gulf of Guinea.
Taking his turn to speak, Christian Fusillier expressed his satisfaction at the quality of AFD/MINRESI cooperation. He also pointed out that he had come to enquire about the priorities or particular difficulties of this Cameroonian ministerial department in terms of needs relating to cooperation files currently being analyzed between his structure and the Ministry of Research and Innovation. The aim of his visit, he added, was to raise awareness among decision-makers and to ensure MINRESI’s eligibility for the third-generation C2D. In this respect, he indicated a number of parameters that could militate in favor of the national research system. These include projects focusing on climate change, technologies, agroforestry, sustainable development, soil fertility, forest resource management and land issues.
The visit is part of a series of missions to supervise the Programme d’Appui à la Sécurisation et à la Gestion Intégrée des Ressources Agropastorales (ASGIRAP) and monitor the Programme national de Développement Participatif (PNDP). For the Minresi guests, the aim is to supervise and assess the state of completion of the PNDP HIMO programs funded by the European Union’s Emergency Fund, and to monitor the progress of the PNDP phase 3 Agropastoral project funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), as well as the 3rd Debt Reduction and Development Contract (C2D 3) involving the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. The delegation will travel to Garoua, in the North region, and visit the ASGIRAP microprojects, among others.
