Tea farm belonging to Pa Monde |
It is worth noting that the relationship between local tea farmers ( Small Holders' Schemes) and the the Cameroon Development Corporation-CDC was very healthy until 2003 when the tea sector was privatised to CTE. CDC assisted these Small holders schemes with inputs, expertise and even helped in the processing of their produce. When CTE took over, the relationship became unhealthy. One of the Small Tea farmers won the first prize at National Agro-pastoral show at Ebolowa in 2011.
The situation of Small Holder Tea farmers in Ndu has reached a crisis level. This is so because the Prime Minister Yang Philemon and the Minister of Agriculture have given a deaf ear to their plight. Of late, Pa Monde Michael was arrested and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for allegedly harvesting tea leaves at the Ndu Tea plantation. Some years ago, five small holder tea farmers were arrested, detained and were later discharged and acquitted at the Appeal Court for processing their products locally. George Tando Tanko in a facebook post reports that Monde Micheal's tea farm has turned into a forest. Allegedly, this situation is happening as a result of repeated threats, intimidation and court cases masterminded by the management of Cameroon Tea Estates (CTE).
(Stakes and Implication coming up soon)
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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