The North West Livestock Development Fund (CDENO) has provided livestock inputs to 550 farmers across the North West Region in a bid to boost poultry, piggery and dairy production and improve the availability of livestock products.
The assistance, distributed on Friday, September 25, 2026, comprised 30,000 day-old chicks, 100 piglets and approximately 5,320 bags of animal feed.
The distribution marked the fifth edition of CDENO’s livestock assistance programme, an initiative launched in 2022 to support farmers and strengthen livestock production in the region.
Speaking during the distribution ceremony in Bamenda, CDENO Director Mbah Shupong Michael explained that the September timing was deliberate. He said the aim was to give beneficiaries sufficient time to raise the animals to marketable sizes ahead of the end-of-year festive season, when demand for meat and poultry products typically increases.
“This is the fifth edition, and we earmarked 550 farmers to receive 30,000 day-old chicks, 100 piglets and about 5,320 bags of feed,” Mbah Shupong said.
He said the programme seeks not only to increase livestock production but also to improve productivity and strengthen the supply of poultry, pork, milk and other livestock products to consumers.
According to the CDENO Director, experience from previous editions has demonstrated the importance of providing farmers with inputs early enough for them to prepare their animals for the festive season.
He recalled that during last year’s agricultural show, some beneficiaries produced exceptionally large birds, with one farmer showcasing chickens weighing between 12 and 13 kilograms.
“That impressed us and made us decide that September should remain the ideal period for distributing these inputs so that by December, farmers can have sizable birds ready for the market,” he said.
The initiative has also benefited from additional support from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA) through the Integrated Agropastoral and Import Substitution Plan (PIISAH), particularly in support of dairy farmers.
The assistance covers a range of inputs, including day-old chicks, piglets, poultry feed, pig feed and dairy feed.
Speaking at the ceremony, North West Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique commended CDENO and its partners for their continued support to livestock farmers and their efforts to improve the supply of food products to the population.
The Governor noted that the programme, which began in 2022, had contributed to improving the availability of chicken in local markets, particularly during the end-of-year festive period.
He encouraged beneficiaries to make effective use of the inputs to increase both the quantity and quality of chicken, pork and milk produced in the region.
Governor Lafrique also called on livestock farmers to contribute to peace within their communities, stressing that a peaceful environment was essential for economic activities and development.
“See something, say something,” the Governor told the farmers, encouraging them to report problems and embrace community dialogue as a means of promoting peace.
In a separate interview, Governor Lafrique said the government, through MINEPIA and PIISAH, was working with CDENO to help farmers respond to the growing demand for livestock products.
He urged beneficiaries to use the assistance responsibly so that they could increase production and supply livestock products not only to the North West but also to other parts of Cameroon and neighbouring countries.
For Limen Florence, a beneficiary and advocate for persons with disabilities, the programme was particularly significant because it included persons with disabilities among its beneficiaries.
Florence, who works with the Community Resource Centre for the Disabled and Disadvantaged (CRCDD), said the inclusion of persons with disabilities in such programmes could help promote their economic independence and enable them to better support their families.
She commended CDENO for including persons with disabilities in its livestock support programme and encouraged other institutions to adopt similar approaches.
Florence further called on public institutions to meaningfully involve persons with disabilities in development planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring, rather than limiting their participation to beneficiary status.
The latest distribution forms part of CDENO’s broader efforts to strengthen livestock production and improve food supply in the North West Region.
According to Mbah Shupong, the programme is expected to continue, with similar support potentially extending to other regions under the PIISAH initiative.
The broader objective, he said, is to enable farmers to increase production and ensure that more poultry, pork, milk and other livestock products reach consumers.
With the latest inputs distributed in September—three months ahead of the festive season—CDENO expects beneficiaries to have sufficient time to raise the animals to marketable sizes and respond to increased consumer demand by December.
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