From 18 to 22 January 2023, the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA) will be making a working visit to the North Region. For four days, Dr Taiga presided over the inauguration ceremony of the headquarters of the Caisse de Développement de l’Elevage pour le Nord (CDEN) (Livestock Development Fund for the North); the proceedings of the 68th ordinary session of the CDEN Board of Directors; the distribution ceremony for 165 high-performance Montbeliarde pregnant heifers; and the reception ceremony for 165 other pregnant heifers imported from France.

Having left Douala on 18 January 2023 after chairing the work of the Board of Directors of the Mission de Développement de la Pèches Artisanale Maritime (MIDEPECAM), the Caisse de Développement de la Pêche Maritime (CDPM) and the Board of Directors of the Limbé Nautical Arts and Fisheries Institute (LINAFI), MINEPIA is heading for Garoua in the North Region. Doctor TAIGA’s agenda is not at all restful. On his arrival in Garoua on 18 January 2023, he will inaugurate the new headquarters building of the CDEN. This is a brand new two-storey building, construction of which began in 2018.

The cost of this work is estimated at around 303,950,358 CFA francs, including 200,000,000 CFA francs from the MINEPIA subsidy. The construction of this new headquarters building for the CDEN is part of the drive to improve the working environment for staff in order to carry out their duties in the service of producers in the North, Far North and Adamaoua regions. The ceremony took place in front of the headquarters building in the presence of administrative authorities (led by the Governors of the North and Adamaoua regions), political, traditional and religious authorities and a large crowd of guests.

The following day, Thursday 19 January 2023, MINEPI chaired the 68th ordinary session of the CDEN Board of Directors in Garoua. The proceedings took place in the conference room of the new headquarters building inaugurated the day before. On Friday 20 January 2023, MINEPIA set course for Lougguéré in the Mayo-Louti department, Guider district. The 165 pregnant heifers in the second wave, imported from France, were transported to Lougguéré, 21 km from the department’s capital, for acclimatisation and transitional feeding prior to distribution. These dairy cows, which had been at the Lougguéré station since 11 January 2023, were distributed to producer organisations (POs) on 20 January 2023 by MINEPIA at a grand ceremony organised for the occasion, which included a distinguished guest: the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER).

Back in Garoua, MINEPIA and his entourage will await the arrival of the third wave of pregnant heifers. The plane carrying these animals, imported from France, landed at Garoua International Airport at 5pm on Sunday 22 January 2023, where crowds of curious onlookers were already waiting to witness this special event live. MINEPIA, accompanied by its MINADER counterpart, took delivery of the cows.

Dr Taiga also took advantage of the ceremony to present veterinary inspectors’ notebooks to the staff of the Délégation Régionale de l’Elevage, des Pêches et des Industries Animales du Nord, as well as sixteen (16) brand new motorbikes to young veterinarians setting up in private practice for their support.