Cameroon’s Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA) has earmarked FCFA 12.5 billion for projects aimed at boosting productivity and accelerating the development of the livestock, fisheries and animal industries in 2026. The announcement was made on 27 January 2026 in Yaoundé during MINEPIA’s annual conference of heads of central and devolved services.
The two-day meeting, chaired by Minister Dr Taïga, reviewed sector performance in 2025, assessed service delivery and set priorities for the year ahead. Discussions placed strong emphasis on strengthening statistical data systems as a tool to improve sector management, policy formulation and execution. The conference also sought to align programmes designed to raise output, modernise training and enhance coordination across value chains that support household consumption and domestic supply.
Funding and implementation focus
According to discussions at the conference, the FCFA 12.5 billion allocation will be deployed in 2026 to modernise training centres, reinforce incubation hubs and establish a more reliable statistical system to monitor production in livestock, fisheries and aquaculture. The action plan prioritises improved data collection and analysis to track project milestones and measure performance across subsectors. Central and devolved services are coordinating implementation responsibilities to ensure smooth functioning across production, processing and trade throughout the year.
For 2026, MINEPIA has prioritised increasing fish and milk production, expanding continuous training programmes and promoting improved production techniques across the sector. In his opening address, Dr Taïga highlighted that Cameroon has achieved import substitution in poultry and pork, noting that the country no longer imports either. He also underscored the central role of statistics in effectively managing production, processing and trade.
“We have put in place an effective statistical system at the local level to improve data on the production, processing and trade of livestock, fisheries and aquaculture products,” the minister said. Data from the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) show that the livestock and fisheries sector accounted for 4.8 per cent of Cameroon’s economic performance in 2025, a figure cited during the conference as the baseline for planning in 2026.
With a budget of FCFA 12.5 billion for the coming year, MINEPIA expects tangible improvements in statistical performance to underpin productivity gains and policy implementation. Participants were encouraged to develop practical recommendations, strengthen youth training and incubation initiatives, and further improve data collection across the sector to support effective execution of the 2026 action plan.
Mercy Fosoh
