YAOUNDE, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A four-day international agro-pastoral summit organized by the Cameroonian government in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) opened in the capital, Yaounde, on Thursday.

The opening ceremony was attended by local and foreign government officials and agricultural investors.

"We need to trust the land, to trust agriculture. And importantly, employment is now possible with agriculture," Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gabriel Mbairobe who chaired the opening ceremony told reporters.

According to the ministry of agriculture, 500 participants from 35 countries are attending the summit which runs from Thursday to Sunday.

"We expect this summit to be a game changer especially for young people in Africa. Africa can lead the world in agriculture if we have the needed support from our governments," Rose Bole, a 35-year-old participant from Nigeria, told Xinhua.

"We hope to share experiences and create a veritable synergy for the promotion of agriculture the world over during this summit," Emmanuel Kofi, a participant from Ghana, told Xinhua.

Cameroon hopes to tap into its agriculture potential in a bid to attract investors during the summit, Mbairobe said.