Venue : Bamenda University, Cameroon
CSA invites to consider these three objectives together at different scales – from farm to landscape – at different levels – from local to global – and over short and long time horizons, taking into account national and local specificities and priorities.
The CSAYN-Cameroon is a group of inclusive volunteers who have strong interest in Climate-Smart agriculture, food security and resilience.
Focus:
It is envisaged that CSAYN-Cameroon will be
- A food security and nutrition focused, agriculture-driven and action-oriented coalition of entities committed to incorporating climate-smart approaches encompassing all scales and types of agricultural systems, across all climates and approaches to farming, including crop, livestock, fishery and forestry activities, providing farmers an innovative toolbox of options from which to choose;
- A broad, open and inclusive, platform focused on action, knowledge and practice sharing and learning, that inspires its members, promotes far-ranging dialogue that encourages concerted advocacy, and where all relevant voices can be heard;
iii. A voluntary association whose members hold a joint interest in both food security and nutrition and climate change, support the adoption and implementation of climate-smart agriculture, and provide regular updates on progress toward their individual and collective aspirations.
CSAYN-Cameroon is made up of 7 partner institutions ranging from CBOs, NGOs, Universities and Government institutions. The founding members are the following Anoncho Valentine, Dr Njoya Moses and Nkeh Zita Ngwenyi. We come together once a week and draw up a plan of activities for the next week.
In view of the launch, the following plan of activities was earmarked:
ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE LAUNCH
| Activity | Responsibility | Deadline |
| Preparatory meeting | Valentine, Njoya, Zita | Friday 28/11/2014 |
| Budget for the event | Valentine, Njoya, Zita | Monday 1/12/2014 |
| Email to IUCN for radio contact | Valentine | Monday 1/12/2014 |
| Development of Flyer and banner idea | Valentine | Monday 1/12/2014 |
| Contact to some local Radio stations to cover event | Njoya | Tuesday 2/12/2014 |
| Mobilize Volunteers | Njoya | Tuesday 2/12/2014 |
| Location of Stand for the event | Njoya | Thursday 4/12/2014 |
| Design and printing of flyers and banner | Valentine | Thursday 4/12/2014 |
| Printing of t-shirts | Valentine, Njoya | Thursday 4/12/2014 |
| Collection of T-shirts and banners | Zita | Thursday 4/12/2014 |
| Snacks for the event | Zita | Thursday 4/12/2014 |
Presentations
| CSAYN and the networks | Njoya | Friday 5/12/2014 |
| CSAYN Cameroon
Its Focus Advantages and opportunities Zero Hunger Challenge |
Valentine | Friday 5/12/2014 |
| Aquaculture and climate change | Zita | Friday 5/12/2014 |
Launch Proper:
The launch of the CSAYN-Cameroon chapter took place in the University of Bamenda during the Matriculation and graduation ceremony. These events witness the participation of over 13.000 people coming from all parts of Cameroon. Targeting this event, we saw an opportunity to make CSAYN known all over Cameroon.
Early on Friday morning, the banner and T-shirts were picked up and taken to the Campus of the University of Bamenda. At about 10am, the stand for CSAYN-Cameroon was installed with the various documents on display. By 10:15am the T-shirts were distributed to the participants. Participants included university students from the various departments, and members of the public.
Next on the line were Presentations:
The first presentation that dwelled on the CSA network was presented by Dr Njoya Moses. He elaborated on the reason behind CSA, CSAYN and the entire network. Followed was the presentation by Mr Anoncho Valentine that explained the Genesis of CSAYN-Cameroon chapter and welcomes the participants into the new vision of sustainable agriculture in the face of climate extremes. He went further to explain that CSAYN is an all-inclusive forum that leaves no youth behind. Be you handicapped, short, tall or from which class, ethnic or religious background, if you are motivated, you can be part of CSAYN. The purpose of this launch he went further to explain was to
- Raise awareness on climate smart agriculture among young people to enable them make sustainable decisions for the future in the agricultural sector.
- Raise awareness on the present and future threats to climate change and agriculture
- Educate the young people on the contributions they can make in the sector through the application of climate smart practices in agriculture, aquaculture and forestry.
- CSAYN will carry out ZERO Hunger Campaign in schools, market places and hospitals to scale-up the eradication of malnutrition among youth and people living with disabilities across Cameroon.
Mrs. Nkeh Zita closed the presentation sessions with a talk on the role Aquaculture can play in climate change mitigation. There is no doubt that with the coming of CSAYN to Cameroon, there will be a great relieve for the youths in particular and the people of Cameroon in general who love agriculture. adding to the fact that it is going to alleviate poverty. In Cameroon today most people prefer and consume fish which is a cheap source of protein. This has led to a high demand for fish due to increasing population whereas fish produced in the aquaculture sector together with imported fish cannot meet the needs of the people in Cameroon. This she elaborated is a great opportunity for the young people to engage in Aquaculture because there will always be mouths to feed. Therefore she concluded that adopting innovative fish farming methods will increase productivity and at the same time mitigate the effects of climate change.
The question and answer session followed the presentations and each presenter had the opportunity to respond to the questions in their domain. At the end of this activity, the flyers were handed to the volunteers who went about distributing the flyers. A total of 500 people visited our stand with great interest on our vision.
The event ended up with pictures that caught the highlights of the ceremony.
Conclusion:
Challenges faced by the CSAYN Cameroon
- No fix office for now
- People desire to see activities on the field
- Financial constraint
Evaluation meeting:
Way forward
Prepared by : Anoncho Valentine; Reviewed by : Dr Njoya Moses
Validated by: Mrs. Nkeh Zita