Over a thousand canvas sheets each measuring 18 square meters were distributed freely to cocoa farmers in Cameroon's Central and Western regions, as the first phase of a campaign to improve the drying of cocoa beans.
The Cameroonian government intends to end the poor practices non-fermentation of cocoa beans and the poor drying method of cocoa beans. The distribution of the canvas sheets to the farmers is a response to the embargo imposed on Cameroon's cocoa produce by the European Union (EU) this year.
"Over 2,000 tons of Cameroonian cocoa was rejected at the EU ports because of non-fermentation. The main cause of the problem was poor drying conditions," Cameroon's trade minister said.
Experts in the industry have warned that failure to respect good practices in the drying of the cocoa beans will not only cause diseases to human beings who consume the cocoa products, but will also lower the quality of the Cameroonian cocoa on the international market.
Cameroon is the fourth largest cocoa producer on the African continent behind Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. Over 6,000 farmers are involved in the cocoa and coffee industry which benefits about 6 million people either directly or indirectly and represents 40 percent of Cameroon's exports in the primary sector.