Gov’t upgrades Ndop rice facilities to support import substitution

Cameroon is counting on Ndop to become one of the country’s leading rice-producing areas after investing more than CFA4 billion to modernize production and processing facilities at the Upper Noun Valley Development Authority (UNVDA). Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Gabriel Mbairobe inspected the new equipment on July 2 alongside North West Regional Council President Prof. Fru Angwafo III. The government hopes the investment will increase UNVDA’s annual rice production from 21,000 tons to 100,000 tons, nearly a fivefold increase. Achieving that goal, however, will require far more than new processing equipment. Expanding cultivated land, improving irrigation, ensuring access to seeds and fertilizer, strengthening farmer support, and increasing UNVDA’s capacity to purchase, process, and market paddy rice will all be critical. Modern facilities, but production must follow The newly installed equipment can process up to 20 tons of paddy rice per hour, replacing aging machinery that had long limited the authority’s operations. The upgrade should reduce processing bottlenecks, improve rice quality, and allow larger volumes of paddy to be handled. But higher milling capacity does not automatically translate into higher agricultural output. UNVDA still faces challenges related to land development, irrigation, and farm productivity. Although the Ndop plains offer significant agricultural potential, only part of the available land has been developed for rice cultivation. Unless irrigation systems, rural roads, improved seeds, fertilizers, and extension services expand alongside the processing facilities, the new plant could operate well below capacity. The government’s own assessment of the rice sector highlights these constraints. The Ministry of Agriculture cites post-harvest losses, insufficient milling capacity, outdated storage infrastructure, high input costs, shortages of improved seed varieties, limited mechanization, and inadequate irrigation among the industry’s biggest obstacles. The Ndop investment addresses one of those challenges, but not all of them. Reducing dependence on imported rice The project is part of Cameroon’s broader effort to reduce its dependence on imported food. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), cereal imports totaled CFA466.9 billion in 2025, down 14.1% from the previous year but still accounting for 8.9% of the country’s total import bill. Rice remained the largest imported cereal, with purchases valued at CFA268.7 billion, or 5.1% of total imports, despite declining 15.6% from 2024. By increasing UNVDA’s processing capacity, the government hopes to expand domestic rice production, gradually replace imports, and create more value within local farming communities. The initiative fits into Cameroon’s import substitution strategy, which aims to increase the productivity, output, and competitiveness of domestic agriculture. Still, local rice will need to compete with lower-cost imports, particularly from Asia. That means producing enough rice of consistent quality, packaging it effectively, and keeping prices affordable for consumers. More than equipment will determine success Farmers have welcomed the arrival of the new facilities, saying they should shorten processing times, improve access to milling services, and increase the value of their harvests. However, producer prices, access to fertilizer and improved seeds, farm machinery, better roads, and UNVDA’s ability to purchase paddy on time will remain critical to the project’s success. Security also remains a concern. UNVDA operates in Cameroon’s North West Region, which has been affected by the Anglophone crisis since 2017. Although the Ndop plains retain strong agricultural potential, insecurity continues to affect access to farms, the movement of farmers and inputs, and the transport of rice to markets. Against that backdrop, the presence of the regional council president alongside the agriculture minister underscored the government’s intention to anchor the project within the region’s broader development strategy. Ultimately, however, the success of the investment will depend less on political support than on whether it can secure the entire production chain. The CFA4 billion investment marks an important step in modernizing UNVDA and strengthening Cameroon’s ambition to expand domestic rice production. But increasing annual output from 21,000 tons to 100,000 tons will require much more than new machinery. It will depend on whether higher processing capacity is matched by sustained gains in agricultural production and a more competitive local rice industry. Source: Business in Cameroon