Cameroon allocates US$22.1M to cut milk and fish imports | Dairy Business Middle East & Africa

CAMEROON – Cameroon has allocated US$22.1 million (CFAF12.5 billion) in 2026 to the dairy and fisheries component of its agropastoral and fisheries import-substitution program, as the government seeks to expand domestic production and reduce reliance on imported food products.

The agreements are part of the Integrated Agropastoral and Fisheries Import-Substitution Plan, known by its French acronym PIISAH. According to the PIISAH sector coordination unit, US$17.1 million (CFAF9.6 billion) of the ministry’s 2026 allocation has already been committed.

An amendment to the ministry’s agreement with BC-PME provides US$11.6 million (CFAF6.5 billion) in additional resources for the dairy and fish sectors. The financing is intended to improve access to credit for producers and other operators involved in the two value chains.

The additional resources come as the government seeks to translate budget commitments into stronger domestic production.

The MINEPIA component of PIISAH was allocated US$19.6 million (CFAF11 billion) in 2025. According to the government’s 2026 budget report, CFAF9.41 billion had been committed and authorized by September 30, 2025, equivalent to a financial execution rate of 85.5%.

The ministry’s assessment put the program’s physical execution rate at 30%, highlighting a gap between financial commitments and implementation on the ground.

The ministry identified faster loan disbursement, stronger feasibility studies, better production statistics and closer project monitoring among its priorities for 2026. Taïga also called for agreements between implementing agencies and final beneficiaries to link financing more closely to actual production results.

Agencies Receive New Performance Targets

The ministry also signed six performance contracts worth nearly US$15.9 million (CFAF9 billion) with agencies it supervises.

The agreements cover the Livestock Development Corporation, SODEPA; the National Veterinary Laboratory, LANAVET; the Mission for the Development of Small-Scale Maritime Fisheries, MIDEPECAM; and livestock development commissions in Adamawa, the North West and the Far North.

The contracts establish measurable targets and make the agencies responsible for delivering agreed results. According to the ministry’s 2025 performance assessment, the six agencies recorded an average score of 51%, ranging from 76.6% for the North West commission to 36% for the Far North commission.

Activities reported as completed under the plan include the vaccination of 14,000 dairy animals, the acquisition of milking and silage equipment, the construction of fish markets in Mouanko and Youpwe, and the purchase of 18 fish-feed production units.

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