Penja, a locality in the Moungo Division is known
far and wide thanks to
the rich volcanic soil
nature conserved to grow the
famous unadulterated, special
white and black pepper dubbed
Penja Pepper. The pepper that
is singled out from a handful of
imported ones for its unique
taste and flavour during na-
tional and international com-
petition was certified by the
African Intellectual Property
Organisation (OAPI) in 2013
as a geographical indication
product under the brand name
‘Poivre de Penja’. Following the
fact sheet, the Penja Pepper
production zone consists of
the Loum, Manjo, Mbanga,
Njombé-Penja and Tombel
subdivisions in the Moungo
and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions.
The story of Penja pepper 21
years back when just a few
producers including the pioneer
individual producer, Réne Claude
Metomo Elogo, got engaged
was nothing to ride home with.
According to him, just the CDC,
PHP and other companies were
involve in production when
he started. Their product put
together amounted to about 20
tonnes in 1996 and 50 tonnes
in 1999. The low production to
him was the population’s lack
of interest in the production.
Instead, they produced mostly
fruits like pineapples that equally
fetched them some money. Réne
Claude Metomo, who dived
into farming after resigning
from a forest company, dedi-
cated his time to get villagers
interested and in 2010, many
had created plantations and
production increased to 250
tonnes per year. In the same
light, the price of a kilogram
increased from Fcfa 2,000 in
1996 to Fcfa 3,000, Fcfa 4,000,
Fcfa 5,000 and Fcfa 6,000 as
time went on till 2010.
A new page opened in 2013
with the OAPI certification
that did not only increase
the number of farmers in the
Penja Pepper Cooperative to
between 400 and 450, and the
quantity produced to between
300 and 400 tonnes per year,
but equally led to the increase
in price of the genuine Penja
pepper to Fcfa 8,000 then to
Fcfa 10,000 per kilogram. The
product with added value is
C...
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