Société de développement du coton (Sodecoton) heads has decided to revamp cotton production for which a target at 240,000 tonnes of cotton production have been set for 2014, compared to 210,000 in 2013.

To accomplish this, the management of the agro-industry’s gem in the northern region of Cameroon plans to buy cotton from producers this year to persuade them against selling their crops to Nigeria. This fraudulent activity is also supported by Sodecton itself.

In addition to fighting fraudulent cotton exports to Nigeria, Sodecton is offering to make harvest loans and inputs available to producers in order to ensure good harvests.

To roll-out its plan to secure and increase national cotton production, this public company just obtained a syndicated 35.5 billion FCfa loan from 5 Cameroonian banks.

In December 2013, for example, the daily publication, La Nouvelle Expression revealed that the Sodecton factory head in Maroua, as well as the warehouseman have been accused of running a cotton-trafficking network to Nigerian buyers. Managing Director, Abdou Namba, opened an inquiry about this matter which made the company lose “a dozen trucks” worth of cotton grain at Maroua.

Sodecoton realizing that farmers sent their produce to neigbouring countries have been redoubling efforts to stop the trend.