Tell us more about the challenge of the project.What is the problem you are trying to solve? Why is the problem significant?

Nationally in Cameroon, the main economic activity is agriculture, according to IFAD (2024)
there are two million rural families solely depending on farming. By studying the interaction
with the community during our SISF project, we learned that three out of four families face
significant exclusion due to growth barriers including; lack of current tech know-how among
farmers, high upfront cost of current farm equipment/tools, and climate change on soil
make farmers confused of what to plant on what kind of soil, and what to do to improve
soil productivity. These barriers make farming more stressful, time consuming, and
unproductive, affecting over 75% of the 2million people who solely depend on farming for
livelihoods in the country. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2024 report,
“Climate change is a threat to the people and economy of Cameroon, it is expected to result
in significant output losses, exacerbate poverty, inequality, food insecurity and conflict risk,
leading to increased population displacement.”
The situation is fast worsening, with limited opportunities for climate smart agriculture, and
rising inflation across Cameroon, there are not many institutions offering real time
solutions to address the issues of these farmers. Let's talk about Tifuh Angela a displaced
woman farmer who said “because of little rain and armyworms in 2023, I lost all my
seedlings. I did not know what to do, those farm machines and fertilizers are very expensive
to buy, I have not learned how to use them, we spend many days to till the farm, yet no
good harvest at the end. In March 2024, we moved to this place in Mankon Bamenda, but
the situation has not been different.” 

Tell us more about the proposed solution of the project.How will it work?

Our project delivers an innovative integrated process for pest-control greenhouse nurseries and solar dryers that help farmers protect crops from seedling to storage. Our innovation protects crops throughout the entire agriculture cycle by integrating bio-secure climate smart technologies; including Greenhouse nurseries to prevent pests through insect-proof design, controlled air flow, and clean seedling production. Bio-secure organic manure to enrich the soil, eliminate pathogens while increasing crop yields. Clean solar plastics with heat to dry safely, reducing mold, spoilage and aflatoxins. This is an end-to-end system that cuts chemical use, enrich the soils for increase productivity, reduce crop waste. Scientific evidence has shown that clean seedlings, proper handling, and organic soil enrichment increase yields and reduce seasonal losses for farmers. By combining biosecure seedling production, natural pest suppression, and clean solar drying, we reduce losses, cut pesticide dependence, and extend shelf life. This affordable demo-to-rent model makes advanced technologies accessible, boosting yields, reducing post-harvest waste, and supporting climate-resilient, sustainable food systems

What will be the main activities of the project and how will the resources be applied?

The project will equip one training Centre to improve access to training on the use of smart equipment for farmers in Northwest Cameroon. The aim is to scale training and distribution of climate smart inputs for farmers. We will use the resources to conduct training on demo-farms, distribute farm inputs to farmers.

The resources will be used to; 

Pay for greenhouse equipment (plastic films, frames, fans, bulbs, cables, pipes, water storage tank etc.) 

Cover cost of trainers on demo-days, 

Pay for rents on demo space, 

Transport of materials to demo site, 

Pay for manual labor.