""Bambili Agric School Graduates New Breed of Technicians""

The Secretary General in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Bernard Nwana was in the Bambili neighborhood recently where he graduated a new breed of Agricultural technicians and Senior technicians from the Regional School of Agriculture and the Technical School of Agriculture. The privileged few who qualified to obtain diplomas were reminded of their mission once on the field. Virtually everybody who was around to cheer the graduands reminded them of their priority to serve thousands of individual farmers so that they must adopt new agric. techniques with confidence.

The Director of the Regional College of Agriculture, Clement Gwanyama took time off during the event to sound-off about the quality of products from the institutions, and said RCA and TSA Bambili are veritable nurseries for the training of students into farmers, entrepreneurs and extension staff for government services and Non governmental organisations. Gwanyama challenged the graduands to rime to expectation and be an effective two way liaison between extension and research and other agricultural establishments. In the short and long of it, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Agriculture jumped for joy when he was informed that potentials in both institutions are encouraging with government to thank for support. He had warm words for staff of both institutions and promised greater attention this time around in budgetary allocations to give RCA and TSA Bambili a chance.

Training in both schools is a combination of theoretical courses on vocational training and practicals.

""The Cameroon Institute for Research in Development and Agriculture (IRAD) Opts For Development Prone Research""

The 6th board of administrators meeting of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development which held in Yaounde yesterday ushered in a new dawn on research in the country. With a budget of CFA 4,133,263,400 frs, administrators and researchers were once more confident that they would be able to find the muscle to carry out both laboratory and field projects to increase agricultural yields.

Board chairman, Abdoulaye Babale challenged researchers to the task, alluding to the link of research and development. In this vein, research results rather than aiming outrightly at academic exploits would henceforth be geared towards the needs of investors and other economic actors. But this would be a futile attempt he remarked, if there is no feed back which he said, must guide researchers in drawing up their programmes.

No doubt the board chairman described the funds from the World Bank and the African Development bank as vital for the new dynamism introduced into research. As it stands, both financial institutions have made available a financial package worth CFA 2,675 millions (65 per cent of the entire budget) while the State is channelling CFA 1,454 million into what is considered an ambitious research programme for 2000/2001. That probably accounts for the reason a large slice of the pie, over CFA 1,827 frs will be set aside for the programme while provision is being mode for over CFA 1,611 to up-date infrastructure and a meagre CFA 693,952 frs for running cost. As a booster, IRAD finances are being augmented as it benefits from payments of staff salaries through the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and some co-operation research projects.

Apart from financial obligations, the board examined reports of scientific activities undertaken in the course of the 1999/2000 fiscal year as well as the programme of activities for the fiscal year just beginning. In the words of the board chairman, the exercise would enable IRAD move on into a higher gear in its effort at contributing to the development of the country. That is why he said, the staff within the new dispensation would have to put in more. Particular mention was made to the inclusion of part of the activities of the 1999 /2000 programme which were not entirely carried out. The plea which came from the Director General, Ayuk Takem Jacob was situated within the financial squeeze IRAD had been experiencing before the relief from donor institutions.

In the trend of redynamising IRAD, the board also handed some promotion files for meritorious staff.

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