I have read the V0 report, which has done a remarkable job on the conceptual framework and which sets the scene for the orientations that need to be deepened and enriched by the specific realities and experiences of the targeted regions.
From the outset, when reading the report, it is clear that injustices, inequities and inequalities are not reflected in the same way in the countries of the North and the South. The proof is that malnutrition is not the same in these two poles. In the former, it means obesity, overweight. On the other hand, in the second, it means undernourishment, stunted growth. This precision is worthwhile in order to differentiate the injustices in the targeted regions.
In Cameroon, the issue of food security can be analyzed on the basis of a triptych: macroeconomics, policy and strategy in the agricultural sector, and related issues (policies, employment, education, culture).
The macro-economy of the state as a whole, its vision. Over the past three decades, we see how Cameroon has been pulling the bull by the horns to try to get its head above water, through its multiple strategic documents. First there was the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), then the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) and today it is the National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (NDS30) which aim at enabling Cameroon to achieve its emergence in 2035. Unfortunately, while these documents may have the merit of being well elaborated, they do not have the merit of being sufficiently implemented. When I finish saying this, the deterioration of the terms of trade is digging into our trade balance and this added to the weight of the debt, would make it difficult for an underdeveloped state like Cameroon to engage in sharp reforms such as those related to food security and nutrition. In other words, the budgets of underdeveloped countries seem insufficient insofar as the majority already goes into debt payment and structuring projects in terms of infrastructure.
Thus, every year, some 100 billion is allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) to develop agriculture. There is a problem of policies, strategies and implementation. The proof is that when we take into account the budget of MINADER, the aid programs and the support of the action of MINEPAT, it is a lot of money that apparently is injected every year into Cameroonian agriculture without it taking off.
For a good policy, after having identified the agro-ecological zones and production basins, we should identify the producers according to the speculations, I would even say identify the actors of the value chain by speculation, by recording their production capacities, their needs. This data should enable the government to develop effective policies and adopt better strategies. Unfortunately, nothing has yet been done at this level. Good agricultural policies should be based on the farmer. At the BEDELOR (Bureau d'études pour le développement local et rural), we have created a document called the "carnet du planteur" (farmer's notebook), which provides all the technical and financial information on the farmer (production rate, production quantities per speculation, cultivable and cultivated areas, input requirements, financing requirements, etc.). It is on the basis of this information that we can better orient policies in the agro-ecological zones in general and in the production basins in particular.
The poor orientation of our economy or the extraversion of our economy is still hampering the recovery, or even the real take-off of Cameroonian agriculture. Here are some examples:
- Enormous and constant franchises granted to foreign companies in the poultry sector, when this sector had just been relaunched in 2006 with the ban on the importation of frozen chicken cuts;
- The same goes for aquaculture and fishing, with the quasi-monopoly, if not the monopoly, of a local company (CONGELCAM), which imports fish and frozen food instead of developing this sector locally, which is full of job niches;
- In the 2000s, when the maize crisis occurred, the Government opted for imports instead of reviving this sector locally;
- In the rice sector, Cameroon has an abundance of production basins (Yagoua, Ndop, North-West) but our markets continue to be flooded with imported rice (apparently more competitive in terms of price);
- Tubers are scarce and expensive in the markets, as farmers who are not supported by the state most of the time prefer to sell in more lucrative markets, including in neighboring countries (Gabon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria), which even come to buy locally.
These few examples reflect the malaise of Cameroon's agriculture, which is struggling to organize and structure itself and consequently cannot ensure the sustainable food security of its populations. We have the impression that the Government, through MINADER, does not anticipate events enough, and when crises occur, chooses rather punctual but cheap solutions instead of projecting itself in a real policy of revival which will develop sectors, set up value chains, real guarantees of a sustainable food security and nutrition and of a perennial agriculture.
Obviously, this has consequences or causes that could justify this state of affairs. First of all, when talking about inequalities, we can mention the administrative and geographical division of land, which has allocated relatively smaller areas to demographically dense peoples who practice intensive agriculture. The variety and variability of climate and seasons also reinforce these inequalities. Not all peoples, from a cultural point of view, have the same relationship with the land. While you have the Grassfields (in the western and north-western highlands), especially those in the west, who are aware of the small areas they have inherited for an overly large population, are determined to over-exploit their land to the point of developing agriculture on the slopes of the mountain ranges that litter this region. Meanwhile, we have the pygmies in the East Cameroon region, who do not exert a considerable impact on the land in particular and the environment in general. Over- or under-exploitation of the land in a given area leads to ecological and environmental impacts in that area. These impacts may give rise to resiliencies or habits depending on the region. Rotational farming, which can be practiced in the central-southeastern zone, may not be possible in the western Grassfields, which are overexploiting land that has become insufficient, leading them to make considerable use of fertilizers. Of course, it is in areas where agriculture is intensively practiced that support is more regular and consistent. In this respect, we can see an unequal distribution of state support and assistance in terms of agricultural materials and inputs. In short, some areas benefit from projects and programs more than others. But it should be noted that all these measures are based on two fundamental reasons:
1) Support measures can be applied to further amplify a production that is developed or growing with a view to feeding the rest of the country (as is the case in the Grassfields region);
2) To address a region plagued by hunger and undernourishment (as is the case in the Far North of Cameroon and the East region, and to some extent the Adamaoua and North regions with the issue of refugees from the Central African Republic), which attracts the bulk of humanitarian and assistance programs.
This mapping of projects and programs sufficiently demonstrates the inequities and inequalities in public action in the different regions of Cameroon. From this point of view, it can be observed that
-The Grassfields region has been able to develop Agriculture because it has better addressed the issue of education. Women and young people have access to education. Thus, this human capital allows it to be the production basin of chicken, eggs, thanks to the mastery of technology and modern methods used in Agriculture. Besides, despite all the assistance and humanitarian programs present in the region, the Far North of Cameroon remains one of the least educated regions, due to cultural relays that do not favor access to education for women and youth.
- The Grassfields region, through its dynamism, has been able to develop value chains and is now home to several agricultural inter-professions (organizations), notably IPAVIC in the poultry sector, but also other inter-professions in the coffee sector, etc. These value chains are at the heart of the development of the region. These value chains are at the origin of the development of jobs (job niches) throughout the country. Bafoussam (capital of the West region and focal point of the greater Grassfields region) is the third most important destination for small and medium-sized industries and enterprises after Yaoundé and Douala. This is because this area has been able to organize and structure a pole of activities that necessarily expresses a demand in terms of services, which offers opportunities to SMEs and SMIs.
Some recommendations:
- Create a file of producers by production basin and by agro-ecological zone, by speculation, with information on their civil status, cultivable and cultivated areas, needs in inputs and phytosanitary products, needs in financing;
- Communicate statistical data on production to the decentralized services of the State and feed the information back to the central level in order to better develop policies and strategies;
- A good seed policy must be put in place and addressed locally;
- Draw up a list of staple crops and develop a value chain around these crops in order to provide solutions in terms of employment and food security;
Mr. Joseph MAYI