Meet Frankline Ndzi Nformi: The Change Maker Food Systems Hero

Climate Change Messenger visits Franklin Ndzi Nformi aka Ta Shey Frank

UN Food Systems Summit will be convened this September to help drive progress toward reaching the global Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Transforming food systems that contribute in mitigating the ongoing health, climate and biodiversity crises is what is mostly needed to restore the Earth. 

Talk about sustainable Inland fish farming and landscape restoration, the first name that comes to mind is Franklin Ndzi Nformi. Ta Shey Frank as he is fondly called is the President of Nkambe Central Fish Farmers Simplified Cooperative. His being elected President of Fish Farmers was not by error. Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit him in his fish farms surely goes back home more impressed than when he was coming. 

Although his activities as a fish farmers are legendary, few people have a full understanding of just how perfect a farmer he actually is. It’s not about how much money you put in, but how much of yourself you put in. Franklin Ndzi Nformi is a man with a huge, huge gifted art of restoring nature. 

I remember when he told me he was putting in place a standard fish pond and frankly speaking I took it for a joke. Today, Ta Shey Frank is a formidable farmer. He has transformed the area into a veritable greenery with the regeneration of native trees, fruit trees, banana/plantain trees etc.  

Within half an hour at his farms, I was marveled and taken away by what I saw. Six fishponds with the biggest having over 5000 fingerlings of 4 months. 

“I want to make it possible for ordinary people to go to eat fish and at affordable price, just like it’s now possible for me to train more youths to be like me,” he explained in his quiet voice. " I think LIFIDEP has done much to the benefit of fish farmers in Nkambe Central and our dream is to produce fingerlings". 

I was totally speechless and just pumped him with question after question. I am very enthusiastic when it comes to young men engaging in exemplary farming and restoration. He told me that he started as a passion and now fish farming has become veritable source of income. " In our cooperative, we are 50 active members and we have members that only depend on the fish ponds to earn a living including women. Inland fish farming pays" he added. 

From all indications, Shey Frank has followed the trials and triumphs of his remarkable venture to develop a fish venture. From his integrated agroforestry maize farm, he provides green jobs to some youths. Ecotourism could be the next giant leap for Franklin's fish ventures. The two giant bokarous built from natural china bamboo and grass speak by itself .In fact an eldorado in the making 

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Mayor of Ndu Abdou Borno Awarded Best Mayor

If we look at the achievements of mayors these days, the clear frontrunner has to be Ndu's Mayor, Abdou Borno Kamfon. For being recognized and honoured as the most pragmatic Grassroots Developer is an added boost to his savvy sassy no-nonsense attitude in terms of governance, results-orientation and sustainable actions. " The People's mayor" as he is fondly called  was last week honoured by The Watchdog Tribune for being the most pragmatic mayor of all mayors in action. This is how it should be, after all. “Action More Than Words,” as we say is the same school from which Mayor of Ndu functions. And I must admit that I was blown away with a report that Mayor Abdou Borno donated tons of maize seeds to farmers. Just when the farmers were jubilating, he came with tons of fertilizer. He has understood that if he boosts the local agricultural economy, farmers will sell more, and the council too will generate more revenue. A win-win approach which is changing lives.  The Ndu council is one of the few (maybe lone council) where councilors still enjoy mircogrants known as "Small Money, Big Change". When he announced the tarring of streets which has finally come to reality, some "Ndu York" inhabitants wrote on social media that "make this happen and you will surely have our votes".

 When Abdou Borno was elected mayor, the core agenda was eradicating poverty. The award he received in Bafoussam was a well.deserved distinction for the work he is doing. From improving access to water, health facilities, opening of farms to market roads and tarring of the streets, and you name the rest, majority in Ndu say they like his initiative for going around addressing concerns and issues.  Reviewing the comments given by the inhabitants of his council area—Mayor Abdou's innovations in reaching and addressing constituents' concerns during pandemic, social and welfare services is easing growth. 

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LIFIDEP Creates the Unexpected, Donates 940 Sheep/ Goats to Breeders in Donga Mantung

Donga Mantung: 491 Breeders Benefit from LIFIDEP  Sheep/Goats Programme

The Livestock and Fisheries Development Programme-LIFIDEP has officially handed over 940 sheep and goats to farmers in Donga Mantung Division. There was euphoria at Sabongari, Ndu, Nkambe, Misaje and Ako where small sheep/ goat breeders received hundred of goats as part of the Pass On the Gift Programme to instill growth. Five cooperatives with membership of 491 members received 940 sheep/goats ranging 4 animals to 7 animals per member. 

The cooperatives that benefitted from the Pass On the Gift are MEFIH Borders Cooperative of Sabongari for Nwa Sub Division, Ndu Small Ruminants Simplified Cooperative for Ndu Sub Division, Misaje Small Ruminants Simplified Cooperative for Misaje Sub Division, Ako Small Ruminants Simplified Cooperative for Ako Sub Division, Salama Women and Nkambe Active Youths Small Ruminants Simplified Cooperative for Nkambe Central. 

Speaking to farmers at the various points of distributions, the representative of the Director General of North West Development Authority-MIDENO, Roland Azinwi Ngufor, expressed joy and gratitude to farmers for the massive turnout. Addressing farmers in Ako, Sabongari, Ndu, Nkambe and Misaje, Roland Azinwi advised farmers that they should use the gift to improve on their standard of living. Harping on the activities of MIDENO as general overseer of development efforts in the North West Region, Roland enumerated all the actions of MIDENO in fostering development. He equally told farmers that there is a mirco credit scheme at the level of United Savings and Credits-USA Credit where animal breeders to obtain soft loans to beef up production. Emphazing on improving of the small ruminants sector, Roland Azinwi Ngufor added that apart from the support in animals given to farmers, LIFIDEP will also provide veterinary drugs to each beneficiary cooperative which will serve as a revolving fund to sustain their activities. 

On his part Dr. Teboh Andrew who represented the Coordinator of LIFIDEP and is incharge of the distribution exercise gave out on the spot practical lessons to breeders. He called on farmers to put to use of the various capacity building they recieved in animal management. Dr. Teboh Andrew used the occasion to enumurate the number of projects that LIFIDEP has executed in Donga Mantung Division. He projects include amongst others  the construction of classrooms, community halls, roads, health centers, water schemes, artificial insemination/ vaccination crushes, cattle deeps and the putting in place of pasture demonstration centers. Besides that he continued that LIFIDEP has equally constructed  zootechnical centers, Divisional veterinary clinics, and has provided alot of capacity building for farmers. Furthermore, Dr. Teboh Andrew said LIFIDEP has put at the disposal of farmers and he reiterated the fact that Donga Mantung has all the potentials for small ruminants to flourish. Before leaving Nkambe, the team expressed satisfaction over what they saw and the enthusiasm that characterized the handing over ceremony. 

Doing some certifications ahead of the handing over of the support to breeders in Nkambe, Damasus Niba Ngwa, Divisional Focal point of LIFIDEP for Donga Mantung prescribed astudness to breeders, adding that LIFIDEP has instituted Pass On the Gift programme to improve on breeders income and production. According to Damasus Niba Ngwa, the contribution of goats/sheep is highly valued and has an important role in feeding the populations, reasons why LIFIDEP has instituted Pass on the Gift Programme to encourage sustainable food chain. In fact, goats are extremely intelligent animals, very agile, and independent, with a high level of resistance to diseases, much better than other ruminant species, he concluded. A week before the handing over ceremony, it is worth mentioning that the animals were dewormed and tagged. 

What They Said: 

The President of Nkambe Active Youths Small Ruminants Simplified Cooperative, Bawe Vincent Ngala expressed gratitude to MIDENO and LIFIDEP for the timely support which he said will go a long way to improve on the welfare of members, provide quality meat to the public and instill modern techniques of breeding. He told the Bamenda delegation that their cooperative seeks to valorize the goat/sheep value chain from production to marketing and processing. "We have received 15 new applications from people who want to join our cooperative", he emphasized hoping the LIFIDEP will provide a second support while waiting for those who have just been handed animals to multiple before passing on to others. 

The President of Misaje Small Ruminants Simplified Cooperative, Ali Tukur said that the support will go a long way to change lives in communities. While acknowledging the efforts by MIDENO to alleviate poverty in the North West Region, he used the opportunity to channel greetings to the management of LIFIDEP for the support in animals and infrastructure. "We are so glad and I can't express my joy in words", he concluded. 

Habu Ashiatu, President of Salama Women in Nkambe, said that Pass On the Gift programme is the first of it's kind that women have been given sheep/goats. She promised that they will use the support for the purpose intended. "We will make sure that when next you visit us, the number of animals will tripple", she added. Mami Ashiatou also used the opportunity to pour praises on the Divisional Focal Point for always giving them advise and training them on sheep/goat management.

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