Cameroon : The ACDIC
The context: Since 1995 Cameroon has been facing massive imports 
of frozen chicken from Europe, Asia and Latin America. The product is sold at a very low price on local markets in disastrous sanitary conditions. In 2001 the situation started to deteriorate drastically: many poultry breeders, no longer able to sell off their products, have gone bankrupt. SAILD (Organization supporting local development initiatives) had long encouraged farmers to start up poultry production which was very profitable at that time. When the import started, SAILD created ACDIC which campaigns against the import of frozen chicken meat. From the beginning this initiative gained support of SOS Faim.
A project to assist the local population: ACDIC campaigns in favour of regulating the import and reviving local production and all related occupations (carriers, merchants, grain sellers). It is active in Cameroon but also in Europe as this issue is closely related to the EU policy.
Results are tangible. In Cameroon the civil society has grown aware of the problems and wants to put pressure on decision-makers. In Europe, signature campaigns have been launched and resulted in over 65,000 petitions collected in favour of changing the global trade rules.
A campaign which gives results: The government have introducedimport quotas and imposed a tax on imported frozen chickens which makes them more expensive than locally produced poultry. ACDIC helps farmers to revive the local poultry market.
Moreover, decentralized structure of the association enables it to play an active role in all of the country’s provinces. In 2006 ACDIC launched a new campaign for food sovereignty concerning other products, like tomatoes, rice and cereals.
