Doctor Jean Calvin Ndjock is a Cameroonian entrepreneur involved in Aquaculture as well as in the tourism sector. With a rich educational background that saw him passing through university in Yaounde,Cameroon and eventually in Marseille, France where he studied oceanography, he is presently putting all his experience to use in the private sector after retiring from civil service. In this interview carried out by EDEV News' Francis Ekongang Nzante Lenjo, Dr. Jean Calvin Ndjock takes us through his educational itinerary and his careeer life with the Cameroon Public Service and other international organisations. He doesn' only bring out problems plaguing the sector but goes ahead to propose the best way forward. Among other things, he equally reveals the plan by the ministry to open a fish feed factory in Foumban.
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| The Exquisite location of ETISA Beach, Limbe |
You have enormous experience in the domain of fishery and oceanography. Could you tell us about your professional life.
Well I graduated from Université de Marseille II in 1977 from where I obtained a PHD in Oceanography. Back in Cameroon in 1978 I was recruited by the Ministry of Livestock , Fishery and Animal Husbandry. From there I was recruited as a researcher and sent to Limbe in 1980 where I was asked to open the fishery research and oceanography station in Batoke. I worked in Batoke like a researcher and chief of station till 1993. From there I went to the Directorate of the Institute of Agricultural Research. From there I was appointed the Director of fisheries. That was in 1993. From the Director of fisheries I joined the United Nations specifically the Food and Agricultural Organisation based in Benin. I then moved to Rome after putting in 7 years in Benin. I stayed in Rome for a year.
As a retired person you are certainly not idle considering your wealth of experience.
Yes I came back to Cameroon in 2008 after my stay in Rome. I installed myself in Limbe where I got involved in a number of activities. I do a lot of International Consultancy. My activities are concentrated within countries of the Central African Sub Region CEMAC and also in West African countries. I also work with some institutions that are found within the CEMAC Zone. My consultancy is focused on defining fishing policies, problems relating to the fight against poverty as well as problems related to the protection of the environment.
Out of consultancy, we understand you are also involved in the promotion of ecotourism.
It as a result of this that I have a structure in Limbe at Batoke on the sea shore where I have put in place a private beach where I can receive guests on holidays wanting to relax and to eat some good sea food and equally get comfortable lodging facilities. This place is called ETISA Beach. The name ETISA was conceived from the surrounding environment. The first part of the name ETI stands for Etinde which is that part of Mount Cameroon found in Limbe. The second part of the name stands for sand. So the full meaning is simply Etinde Sands.
As a retired person how do you make up for your passion in fishery?
Alongside Ecotourism I also do a lot in the promotion of Aquaculture. With a group of former colleagues of the United Nations we have created an association which is focused on the prompotion of Aquaculture. We constantly come together to take a critical look at the things that we are doing. As for me I deal in fish destined for human consumption. I have a number of fish ponds or basins which are found on the sea shore while some of my ponds are found on the slopes of Mount Etinde where we are carrying out the same activity but in a completely different environment. Since the soil in Limbe is volcanic and doesn't hold water, we are obliged to use fish ponds made either from concrete which is pretty expensive or man made basins which is much more affordable and easier to controle. Aquaculture in Cameroon suffers generally from problems related to the nursery or the propagation of fingerlings. There is also the problem of water which we have solved by capturing water from some rivulets in Limbe. We have equally made some bore holes to tackle the water problem. The third problem that we have in Aquaculture is that of fish feed. It is an uphill task and I think we should look for means to bring down the price of fish feed. Imported fish feed costs between 1500 and 2000 FCFA. So with colleagues we are working on means to produce fish feed from local products. The Ministry of Livestock, Fishery and Animal Husbandary is stepping up efforts in this direction with an intention of creating fish feed factory in Fumban. If this is done it will be a welcomed relief. It is only in this way that aquaculture will really take off in Cameroon. Now Cameroon produces only 1000 tons of fish annually from Aquaculture and imports more than 150.000 tons annually.
What do you think is the future of this sector.
I think the Ministry is better placed to answer that question but when I was still working with the Ministry, there were a couple of questions like the problem of organisation of the fish sector and that of stream lining the supply chain of fish to consumers. This probblem of the provision of fish to consumers can only be solved if there is complete organisation of the sector at the level of the sea as well as in the hinterland.For things to work all fishing related activities should be well structured .
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