Chaired by the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, the Cameroon Interprofessional Aquaculture Exhibition (SIAC) opened on Monday, December 2, 2024 at the Yaoundé Multipurpose Sports Palace .

Placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, Head of State, with the theme: ”  Import substitution: the contribution of aquaculture  “, the first interprofessional aquaculture fair in Cameroon (SIAC) is being held at the Yaoundé multipurpose sports hall from December 2 to 7, 2024. The opening ceremony was held this Monday in the presence of an audience of members of the government and foreign partners from Morocco, Tunisia and China to attend this major event organized by the Interprofessional Organization for the Development of Aquaculture in Cameroon (OIDAC).

For six days, experts, professionals and exhibitors from Cameroon and other countries in Africa, America, Asia and Europe will exhibit through conferences and debates, high-level training and thematic workshops, exhibitions of aquaculture products and services, B2B and networking meetings, visits to aquaculture farms and the sharing of experiences with other countries present.

During the opening ceremony, Jeanne Etoundi, President of Oidac, expressed her gratitude to all those who, directly or indirectly, contributed to the organization of this show “which is already a success”. She did not fail to expose the problems that undermine the aquaculture sector in Cameroon. “  We aquaculturists are ready , Mr. Minister, but the banks do not trust us, nor do the insurance companies. What should I do?  ” she wondered.

In his opening speech, Dr. Taïga, Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, reassured the participants of the support of the public authorities. “The Head of Government, through a decree, has set up a facilitation fund worth 3.5 billion in the agro-pastoral sector. These funds are available at the BEAC with a guarantee fund of one billion already available and the procedures, in particular the procedures manual, are being drafted. And we believe that this type of financing is there to offer solutions to women and young people. I am leaving the National Assembly where I defended the law on fisheries and aquaculture earlier, you see that the regulatory dimension is also being put in place to better supervise the sector. I believe that at the end of this exhibition, a significant change will now be visible in this sector ,  ” he reassured.

In addition, the representative of the National Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (ANDA) of Morocco, Majida Marouf, thanked the president of Oidac for the trust placed in them for this first edition of SIAC. ” This is an ideal opportunity to share experiences and show the importance of this initiative which lays the foundations for fruitful cooperation between our two organizations,” she concluded.

Kaltoumata Deidei