First Contest for Typical Food Products in Cameroun: a first time experience for sub-Saharan Africa

More than 300 products coming from 10 Regions of Cameroun have been gathered in Obala, Cameroun, to be tasted between 15th and 16th March by more than 120 jurys.

The competition has been organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in close cooperation with the Cameroonian Agricultural, Fisheries, Breeding and Chamber (CAPEF), under the coordination of the Agricultural Institute of Obala (IAO), and with the technical support of UNIDO and the PAMPAT project, funded by the Swiss Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO).

The Cameroonian Contest for Typical Food Products is a national event, bringing together consumers, specialists and producers. The major goals of such National Contest are to encourage quality improvement and adding value to regional products, to develop and strengthen ties between producers of local products, buyers and consumers and to display the country’s finest regional products. The event aims to encourage producers of a country’s regional specialties to strive for quality, to establish healthy competition among them and to familiarize people with such foods.

The Cameroonian Contest is the fourth National Contest supported by UNIDO and SECO, after Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt and is based on the methodology developed by UNIDO and the Interjurassian Rural Foundation, organiser of the Swiss National Contest of Typical Food Products since almost 20 years.  

“We are delighted to see today so many different products coming from all the regions of Cameroun! We thank UNIDO and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs for having given us the opportunity to be international network of typical food contests and for having guided us to adapt the methodology to the reality of our country and products. The typical food products constitute a very important opportunity for the country to ensure the import substitution goal and to promote quality products that are made in Cameroun”, declared Mr. Jean de Dieu NKOA ALIMA, Director of the IAO and Coordinator of the Contest Strategic Committee.

For more information on the contest: https://www.concours-terroir.org/

For further information contact: Ebe Muschialli (e.muschialli [at] unido.org (e[dot]muschialli[at]unido[dot]org))