Shu Martin Amaboh, Farmer and Quarter head, Mforya, Bafut

In which agric show did you win a prize and what prize did you win ?
I won the first prize for sweet potatoes at the Maroua national agric show and a second prize for earth plant.
What were you given as prizes ?
I was given around 80000 Cfa francs as first prize for the sweat potatoes and 60000 Cfa francs for earth plant.

How did you prepare for the agric show ?
Well, I just prepared by tilling the land putting manure and taking care of the crops to grow and they came out to be very good and I won the prizes.
How did you know that there was going to be an agric show in Maroua ?
We were working with the agric department and they prepared us for the agric show. Right now they are already preparing us by reducing the cost of fertilizer for the one that will take place in Ebolowa.

How did you feel when there were no more agric shows since the Ebolowa show failed ?
In fact, it was really bad because with the preparations that I did following the experience I had in Maroua, I would have won about four or five prizes. It was called off just three days to when it was supposed to take place when we had already prepared everything and were ready to take off. I felt very bad just like most farmers. That was the year I would have done something if I went there.
How did you feel when you received your prizes in Maroua ?
I was very happy. I was very happy to have seen Maroua through the agric show and then I won prizes again and my happiness could not be controlled.
How did you get to Maroua ?
Government took care of us by transporting us there, feeding and everything and we even had a pocket allowance of 28000 Cfa francs and we were still being fed.

Where were you sleeping ?
There was a place for lodging but I in particular was sleeping with the driver in the vehicle because it had a heater.
What was so good about the Maroua agric show ?
The prizes that I won and these certificates, in future when my children grow up, they will see the certificates and know that I was a hardworking farmer.
Are you prepared to go for the Ebolowa show ?
Sure, I am prepared and I will be going there with maize for which I won the first prize in last year’s regional show, I will go with yam and garden crops too.

Are these products ready for you to take along or you are still to produce them ?
This is the time we are preparing them. We will start preparing them because we have the agric show in December 2010. So, when the rains come we will plant and take care of the crops and then harvest.
Are you sure that by that time you will have what it takes to win a prize in Ebolowa ?
Except that it is the climate change they are talking about, I am sure
by J.F

“These small shows are not as good as that one,”

Nchifor George, Coffee farmer, Awing, Santa Sub Division, Mezam, Division

Which agric show did you attend and what price did you win ?
I cannot remember what agric show it was and even the price but I know that I was given a wheelbarrow, money and a watering can.
How did you know that there was an agric show ?
It was announced in our cooperative and the Chief of Post of Agriculture also told me and I decided to take part.
What motivated you to decide to take part in the Agric show ?
The work I was doing at the time was encouraging and government was supporting us farmers and so when it was announced, I felt that I was part of the government through the farm and so I decided to take part.

How did you prepare for the show ?
The field workers came and told us to prepare the best coffee especially the fat and clean ones. They said we should select them and put them aside and dry them very well so that it should not break.
Did agric workers assist you in anyway ?
Yes, they used to call meetings to tell us the way we should prepare. The said we should not over-ferment coffee or ferment in a bad way and we should not dry it in bad places.
How did they finally select you to go and represent the region ?
They did the test themselves and selected me.

What did you do with the price you won ?
The wheelbarrow and the spray can went to the farm and the rest of the money was used to buy farm chemicals and other farm inputs
How much money was it ?
I cannot remember the amount since it is a long time ago. I think it was about a hundred thousand francs.
After you won the prize, did government give you any assistance again ?
No, only the prize and I used the money to buy fertilizer.

How did you feel when there no other agric show was organised again ?
I have felt very bad especially as these small shows are not as good as that one. I just think that we have been forgotten. If government did not forget us at it should have been organising the show and making us happy. We just think that they have abandoned us and that is why the price of coffee has gone down, the price of chemicals and fertilizer have gone up and yet government is not coughing. The prices of all farm inputs have gone up and that is why the coffee farms are depreciating and the youths are abandoning them leading to low production.

Would you be able to attend the agric show announced for this year ?
It depends on how they prepare us because there is no money to prepare for it or even to go there and come back. The farms are gone but if they could assist us to go there, have an enjoyable stay and come back remembering how it used to be in the past I will happily go there. It is my field.
What good memories of that time are you carrying along ?
That time was good and even civil servants used to question why farmers were better than them? That was just because every year, there was an increase in prices of coffee and government used to subsidize farm inputs by J.F