A/HRC/22/50/Add.2 resources (particularly land and budgetary resources, including subsidies and subsidized loans) to different categories of producers (small producers, large businesses and agrifood companies). 30. Credit. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to ensure that the lines of credit provided by the future agricultural bank are accessible to small farmers, livestock farmers and fishermen. He welcomes the plans to create special service areas for these groups, as has been done in other countries, notably Brazil. He welcomes measures to support citizens’ initiatives to gain access to credit in rural areas, having seen a number of examples for himself in villages close to Maroua.14 31. Access to inputs, mechanization, and agricultural development model. Under the current strategy, priority is given to providing subsidized access to inputs (seeds, fertilizers and phytosanitary products) and effecting a rapid transition from manual to motorized agriculture. This process involves, in particular, the distribution, with the support of FAO, of improved seeds, the construction of a tractor factory and a project to construct a synthetic fertilizer factory. There is no doubt that the distribution of crop varieties that are suited to the needs of small producers is important and that increasing the amount of fertilizer used in Cameroon — which is currently very small — may increase yields from depleted soil. However, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, conducted by more than 400 experts between 2004 and 2008, and the previous contributions of the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/16/49) highlight the potential of agroecology in developing a system of productive, small-scale agriculture that creates employment and is less dependent on external inputs whose costs are set to rise over the coming years. 32. Agroecological techniques could provide an interesting alternative for the northern regions. For instance, fertilizer/fodder trees such as acacia senegal provide a structural solution to the problem of soil fertilization, supplement mineral fertilizers and have the added advantage of producing fodder and also gum arabic for a sector that creates jobs. The State could make an effective investment by installing anti-erosion strips and microdams, which modify the structure of production by maximizing fodder yields and helping to improve rainwater collection. 33. Advice for producers. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the recruitment of 2,000 agricultural advisers over the last two years. He encourages the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to create the conditions for the establishment of a genuine partnership between the decentralized bodies where these advisers are based, the organizations representing small farmers, and the researchers of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development. It would also be desirable to appoint a number of women agricultural advisers, consistent with the number of farmers who are women, as this would help to improve access to knowledge for women and ensure that their specific constraints are taken into account. 34. Marketing and rural development. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the political commitment made to improving production processes and ending the isolation of regions where road and rail infrastructure is lacking or dilapidated. In his view, the village granaries of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Network Fighting Hunger in Cameroon (RELUFA) deserve to be supported and developed on a larger scale. While their primary aim is to protect villages from the effects of a lean period, these structures can represent the 14 GE.12-18864 Notably the Village Associations for Savings and Credit (AVEC) set up by the Association for the Promotion of Livestock Farming in the Sahel and Savannah (APESS). 9