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PALMS PLANTING BEGINS AT BOA PLAIN

C.D.C. NEWS - MARCH 2009

PALMS PLANTING BEGINS AT BOA PLAIN

By PRINCE ENDELEY CHARLES

It all began on April 16 when the first seedling was planted by Chief Lenya Joseph Fete of Boa Balondo Village followed by Chef Etina Monono on behalf of the General Manager, the Plan and Development Director, Henry Becke, the Project coordinator, Dou’a Raymond and other top officials of the Corporation.

The Corporation intends to plant some 6,000 hectares of palms in Boa covering a period of five years.

Management intends to plant some 1000 hectares this year of which 670 percent will be around Boa Balondo Village in the Project area while 100 hectares each will be planted at Dikome, Bonjari and Mbongo.

The first harvest has been envisaged for 2012 while the oil mill is also expected to go operational in December 2009 and will be supplied with Fresh fruit bunches (F.F.B.) from Mondoni Oil Palm Estate.

Speaking to the workers at the Boa Oil Mill Development Project, Chief Etina Monono represented the General Manager extend Top Management greetings to every one involved in the project and was thankful that the project has taken off without any accident.

Addressing the Planting Gang encouraged them to be hard working, adding that those who performed well will be rewarded and retained by the Corporation.

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267 HECTARES REPLANTING ENVISAGED
FOR MBONGE ESTATE

By NTOKO CHRISTOPHER SALLE

Some 267 hectares of replanting have been envisaged for Mbonge Rubber Estate for the year 2009.

In order to achieve this goal the Estate is running a nursery for 190.371 seedling and a bud wood nursery of 10.000 plants. This programme will run for the next four yeas.

The goals for this sustainable Replanting Nursery Programme are to ensure the continuity of the Mbonge Rubber Estate and also to encourage small holders rubber farmers by supplying them seedlings at low cost. The programme is also intended to alleviate poverty among the people of the area while the rubber product is viewed as a strong currency earner for the Corporation both locally and internationally. Some 22 persons are presently working at the nursery as budders.

The sustainable Replanting Nursery has been invested with the G.T. One root stock rubber specie which is highly wind resistance because of its high anchorage rooting system.

H. R. H. Chief Daniel Mokambe II is head of the Mbonge Rubber Estate while Mr. Kuki Jeremiah is Overseer of the Nursery which is strictly supervised and coordinated by Mr. Emmanuel Chaimbong.

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C.D.C. IN HYSTERICAL EXCITMENT

By ELESSA ROBERT

Fear and uncertainty gripped the entire CDC workforce as Management opted for a downward review of the Corporation’s 2009 budget in the wake of the globe financial cum economic crises.

Matters even became more worrisome as austerity measures multiplied while salaries since January 2009 delayed for the first time in six years since July 2003.

In spite of the set back, management capitlised on the team spirit of the CDC workforce to continue with projects that has taken off long before the crises commenced – the Boa Plain Palm development. The CDC Banana development and the Matouke Rubber development projects and then the Illoani Oil Mill that will go operational in December 2009.

One can hardly fathom the hysterical excitement that characterised the very first planting exercises in Benoe Banana and the Boa Plain palm fields.

In Benoe, Tiko, it needed the combined entente of CDC Top Management team led by the GM and the local Chiefs of the Tiko area to do the first planting. As the Chiefs invoked the presence of the gods of the land to unleash the fertility so much in need for production booster, the GM and some members of his entourage took turns to plant the seedlings that will tomorrow assume a place
in the world Banana Market. (Read our interview with the Group Banana Manager).

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At the Boa Plain, activities had been earlier preceded by a CDC Board Meeting. Meanwhile the Oil Mill and the field development projects moved simultaneously. Immediately the Project Manager indicated the completion of field preparation, the GM, once again led a team of ceremonial planters to inaugurate the planting of palm seedlings
in the field.

It is worth mentioning once again that few can fathom our excitement when we embraced on planting in the fields. A glimpse at the in house situation of CDC gives any reader an in sight of the situation at the moment. CDC’s main income earner is Rubber. Prior to the word economic/Financial mess rubber used to fetch us 1,166.72 frs/kg against a cost of production of 625/kg. Now that we are in the crisis, both the selling price and the demand for rubber have dwindled significantly.

Rubber now sells at 677.79 frs/kg. Worse still, WEBER and SHAER, Michelin, Kleber, ED and MAN, SOGESCOL,
ANOLD S.A. who are our main buyers, cannot buy our rubber in the quantity they use to buy. We are no stranger to know the current. Situation in the world auto industries. While workers are being laid off their thousands world wide, tyres cannot be produced and ware houses of rubber producing companies, CDC included, are packed with Semi finished products but no one to buy.

So when we improve on and diversity our crops, banana, palms, While hoping for an improvement in the rubber market in the future, you can understand our excitement to near hysteria when we move seedlings from the nursery into the field as the first of a series of programmed expansion.

Indeed, it is a dream come true. Definitely we are on track.