YAOUNDE, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Officials of departments and agencies under the Cameroonian agriculture ministry are holding a three-day conference to discuss the implementation of a series of measures aimed at boosting agricultural production in the country.

    During the annual conference, whose theme is "The grand ambitions of the Cameroonian agriculture" this year, the participants are expected to confirm the importance of the agricultural sector and rural economy, identify bottlenecks hampering growth in the sector and propose solutions, the agriculture ministry announced Tuesday.

    Further, they will attempt to exorcise the lethargy that has been the hallmark of the agriculture ministry in order to give an operational content that is likely to strengthen the sector and enhance the position of "agronomists who spend more time in offices than on the ground."

    "We need to find quick solutions to the ills that hinder the development of agriculture in Cameroon," Deputy Prime Minister Jean Kuete, who is also the agriculture and rural development minister, told the opening session of the three-day conference.

    "The application of modern production tools remains insignificant in our country and the way of production remains archaic," said the deputy premier, calling on the country's experts to seek ways to address the challenges facing the sector.

    In addition, the agriculture minister expressed his country's gratitude to friendly countries and development partners such as "France, China, the Unites States, the World Bank, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the assistance they have always made in Cameroon."

    In his remarks, the deputy premier listed a number of emergency measures that the government was planning to implement within "the next three years in order to ensure that we will never talk about famine in Cameroon."

    The measures, according to the agriculture minister, include "the distribution of improved seed varieties, enhancing the integration of youth in the agricultural sector, provision of support to retirees who want to engage in agriculture, establishment of a fund to boost agricultural production..."

    "There is no development without solving problems affecting the agricultural sector. Any development must come through a green revolution," said Touna Mama, an adviser on agriculture in the prime minister's office.

    "All the major powers and emerging countries have gone through this path," said the advisor, reminding his audience of an old adage that says "a hungry stomach has no ear."

    For Cameroon to reclaim its position as "the breadbasket of Central Africa and even the entire continent," the university professor said that the government must take a number of radical measures rapidly.

    "We must work to ensure the return of agricultural subsidies, construction and maintenance of rural roads to allow farmers to access markets, development of cash crops, creation of employment opportunities for agronomists and other agricultural technicians and the implementation of a five-year plan for the sector," said Mama.