"Cocoa in Cameroon is one of the most sure sectors for foreign investors" -HRH Chief Esambi Peter Ngoh, CEO-DEAH Entreprises Kumba

HRH Chief Peter Esambi Ngoh of Malende Kumba in Meme Division and Chief Executive Officer of DEAH Enterprises in Kumba has declared that the cocoa sector in Cameroon is one of the most sure investment avenues for foreign investors. Among other things, he also intimated that Cocoa beans from Cameroon and especially that from Meme Division in he Southwest Region has the best quality in the world. He said though Cameroon only ranks third in world cocoa production, in terms of quality it is a different ball game all together. He was speaking recently in an interview in his Kumba office. Among other things he also enumerated the main problems plaguing the cocoa sector in Meme Division particularly and Cameroon in general. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang of EDEV Web News.
Excerpts
Who exactly is Chief Peter Esambi Ngoh
I am the Chief Executive Officer of DEAH Enterprises, Kumba, a huge Enterprise that was created by my late father HRH Chief D.J. Ngoh. The Enterprise at its inception dealt mostly in cocoa and coffee bu after the passing away of is founder, we have remained concentrated on Cocoa. The company at he moment is strictly a coffee buying one.
How is the average plantation farmer coping with challenges in the sector. You as a cocoa plantation owner is in a perfect position to throw light on this.
I think Cameroon is the third producer of cocoa. Because of the strictness of the market, I think we are first in quality because our cocoa is dried a 8 degree centigrade  and as such there is no smoke, no mold and no dirt. In Meme Division, we have had enough training and I equally train my employees and just by touching the cocoa beans I can annalise and know its quality. With our gadgets we can detect the degree of humidity among other gadgets of this nature. When you have quality cocoa like that, you sell at a very high price..
What are the price trends of cocoa at the moment?
Last year cocoa prices were very bad and fluctuated constantly. This is going to be the golden year for farmers. The price now is very good. I don’t want to quote it but I think its very favourable. Its favourable now because the first grains are just being picked. Now when the heart of the raining season comes which is the peak moment for cocoa, I don’t think they will maintain that same price.
What are the main challenges faced by the cocoa sector ?
DEAH is a Plantation Cocoa farmer. I don’t have any advantages.. In my sector now, there are a lot of disadvantages. Firstly, there is the problem of roads which is indeed killing us. For example last year during the raining season,  which is the heart of the cocoa season, we were not capable of evacuating a single bag from the plantations because the roads were impassable. We had to wait until the dry season, a time which saw a drop in the price of cocoa. We as such acquired some losses. Financing is another problem. We are financed at very high rates of 12.5%. The financing comes in two ways. You can go to the bank or a credit union facility or you can go to a larger dealer like Sam Fon or Telcar Cocoa. With a collateral of course, they can give you some money to supply exclusively  and that is where they get their money back.
What advice can you give to people struggling to get into the cocoa sector in Cameroon?
We need to collaborate with partners from Europe who can provide us with certain modern equipment that can help us on the farms and such can come in from conglomerates in Germany and the other countries of western Europe. There is also the need for young farmers to know how to manipulate these machines. So once we have investors and we have cocoa beans that are producing all year round, its not going to be an issue of a cocoa season since it is going to be all year round. The cocoa seeds we are buying now and putting into the ground are going to produce cocoa all year round.The realities on the ground are that to buy these seedlings is not cheap. Transporting them is equally expensive and planters need to master the techniques  involved in the planting of these seedlings. Investors need to be aware of all of these and I assure you they will not lose if hey invest in the sector. The Cocoa Sector in Cameroon is one of the most sure sector for foreign investors.
At its creation by Chief D.J. NGoh the company was also into construction contracts and other related services…..
Yes there is the need for this company to grow and attain its former dimensions. Its doors are such open to fruitful partnership and financing. DEAH Enterprises is a licensed dealer in cocoa and coffee and a contracting company that was involved in construction as well. This has seen the enterprise involved in the building of schools, hospitals, drainages, culverts, pavements and all of that. Presently we are not adventuring into building and construction or the contracting section. Here a head capital is needed to even get the contract so it all boils down to financing.
What there for is the way forward for the contracting sector?
We are looking forward to having possible investors in the sector. We have lots of land and we can put up structures, apartment buildings, hostels for students in Buea and Kumba especially now that there is a Higher Technical Teachers Training College going operational in Kumba. I have land in Kumba to get involved in any construction project. DEAH Enterprise is offering a unique opportunity for investors to get implanted in Cameroon.