Ngaoundere: Soproicam gets green light to resume soybean production after land dispute

 Cameroonian agribusiness company Soproicam that grows and processes soybeans, is getting back to work in the Adamaoua region, Ngaoundere, Cameroon after years of setbacks as a result of land dispute.

On Wednesday, April 16, 2025 the company officially received a long-awaited 2,000-hectare of land concession in Awa, about 60 km from Ngaoundéré, where it will restart farming on 1,250 hectares. 

According to information KNews gathered, the land was originally granted by the government in 2013 for maize and soybean cultivation. 

However, the project faced setback from local communities and was suspended in 2016 by then Minister of State Property Jacqueline Koung à Bessiké, pending an investigation. 

With the dispute now settled, the green light allows Soproicam to resume its plans to feed its processing plant in Yato, near Douala, which has a capacity of 100 tons per day. 

Pundits say with the new concession, Soproicam is setting more ambitious goals. It wants to double national soybean production from a projected 50,000 tons in 2025 to 100,000 tons by 2030.

Soproicam plans to work with 50,000 farmers. The timing aligns with Cameroon’s efforts to reduce its dependence on imports. The country currently faces an annual soybean shortfall worth nearly CFA 14 billion. 

In 2023 alone, it imported over 75,000 tons of soybean meal and byproducts, costing CFA 24.7 billion, according to the National Institute of Statistics. That represents a 20% drop in volume and an 18% drop in value compared to previous years.

Now with the new concession, Soproicam is setting more ambitious goals. It wants to double national soybean production from a projected 50,000 tons in 2025 to 100,000 tons by 2030. 

It should be noted that in 2014, the company produced close to 40,000 tons of soybeans annually through a network of 25,000 farmers across Mayo-Tsanaga, Mayo-Rey, Nganha, and Mbé. 

The company ran into supply issues as a significant portion of local production was exported to Nigeria. By 2019, the domestic market could only meet half of Soproicam’s needs. 

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A famer harvesting soybean at Soproicam’s plantation