On the occasion of International Archives Day, under the theme “Enriching knowledge societies”, the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries organized an open day at Mvog-Betsi on Wednesday June 14, 2023, under the coordination of the Sub-Directorate of Documentation and Archives (SDDA).

The main aim of the day was to raise awareness among MINEPIA staff of the importance of archives and documents; to publicize the process of handling MINEPIA’s archives and to promote the ministry’s documentary holdings.

During the celebration, presided over by the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Dr. TAIGA, he recalled the benefits of archiving in the professional world. “We cannot build a modernization of the sector without knowing everything that has already been achieved, quite obviously, in previous years. You know that modern livestock breeding began in the years of independence, but before that there was a lot of action during the colonial period, political approaches and orientations that we need to know more about in order to be better oriented on the basis of what is being done in the field. I would like to remind my colleagues that the purpose of archives is to preserve all production and documentation, so that tomorrow these documents can be used to build policies based on political orientations and on the experience of what has happened in the development of livestock farming”, insisted MINEPIA.

For the Sub-Director of Documentation and Archives (SDDA), this day not only raised awareness of the archivist’s role, but also enabled MINEPIA staff to discover the Sub-Directorate of Documentation and Archives (SDDA), and the importance of archiving administrative documents. “We organized this open day because many people don’t know what archives are. Archives allow us to know where we come from and where we’re going. This open day also enabled us to show the documentary resources that exist, and to say that if there is any research to be done, we are at their disposal”, explained Madame HADJIDJATOU Amadou épse ALIOUM.

The ceremony included a presentation by Dr. DOUFFIISSA Albert on the historical development of livestock farming in Cameroon, and the award of a medal to Madame HADJIDJATOU Amadou épse ALIOUM, elevated to the rank of Knight of Cameroonian Merit on May 20, 2023.

To round off the event, MINEPIA visited stands featuring paper documents (reports, maps and photo albums), sound, audiovisual and digital media tracing the evolution of livestock and fisheries in Cameroon from 1953 to 2021.