Chantal Biya Sets Example in Poultry Farming

Brenda Yufeh

19 June 2011

Saturday, June 18 was a day devoted to poultry farming by the First Lady, Chantal Biya and scores of women from the Circle of Friends of Cameroon (CERAC), of which she is founding president. Amidst the filth of chicken waste with flies hovering around the place, the First Lady, with a mask over her mouth and nose, spent close to an hour at a poultry farm called “Ferme moderne du Sud”, packaging eggs into various egg-trays. It was a pleasant moment for Mrs Chantal Biya and her guests who were mostly members of the diplomatic wing of CERAC. The ladies were particularly thrilled as they discovered the farm and the First Lady’s interest in poultry farming.

During the early hours of Saturday, while members of the diplomatic wing of CERAC were at the Meyomessala City Hall to donate health equipment and agricultural tools to the population, little did they know their founding president had something special in stock for them. As the ceremony came to an end, the women boarded their bus for the indicated destination. All protocol and security measures pointed to the arrival of their founding president, Chantal Biya. In no time, a cheerful Chantal Biya arrived at the esplanade of the Meyomessala City Hall amidst applause from various dance groups. She then hit the road to uncover the pleasant surprise reserved for her guests. In less than 15 minutes, Mama Chantal (as she is fondly called), arrived at the “Ferme Moderne du Sud” where she was welcomed by the Director General, Medoulou Medoulou.

As members of CERAC entered the farm premises, they were warmly received by the First Lady who later distributed masks and egg-trays to each member of the delegation. The women went through the farm from where chicken are raised right to the production stage. At the production stage, Chantal Biya and her guests spent time packaging eggs in various egg-trays. It was fun to most of the women as some of them had to pick-up newly laid eggs from chicken faeces. The “Ferme Moderne du Sud” has three production rooms containing some 8,640 birds each. According to Medoulou Medoulou, each chicken lays one egg per-day. Thereafter, it was time for the delegation to have a taste of the hospitality of a Mvomeka’a woman. Thus, the next stop was at the Presidential residence in Mvomeka’a where Mrs Biya personally made sure her guests were at ease. Beaming with smiles, Mama Chantal served her guests to their taste. A special cake with the message “Welcome to Mvomeka’a” graced the evening which was spiced with music by the Nkon-Koa dance group and Richard Band of Zoetele.

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