CAMEROON
Cameroon
Chapter 2 | Cameroon
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Ousmanou Njikam, University of Yaoundé (Cameroon)
Introduction: The case for agro-industrial development It is widely recognized that agriculture, in connection with industry, constitutes a competitive value-adding business sector; it has a positive development impact and contributes to a country’s economic growth. In Cameroon, agriculture contributes more than half of the country’s non-oil export revenues and employs almost 60 per cent of the economically active population (World Bank, 2009). Moreover, agriculture accounts for nearly 20.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) (Kessous & Ekoka, 2008). However, the agricultural producers are the only socio-economic group for which poverty has increased recently. For instance, in 2007, 87 per cent of the poor were rural, up from 82 per cent in 2001. Therefore, with around 80 per cent of the poor living in rural areas (Fambon et al. 2000), and given one of the Government’s growth and employment creation strategy objectives is to reduce poverty to a socially acceptable level (see DSCE 2009), increasing growth in the agro-industry would play a strategic and pivotal role in poverty reduction in rural areas. Agro-industrial development depends on a combination of the available potential and on policy choices. Agriculture and agro-industry are important value-adding business sectors, with a highly positive development impact, and with a great contribution to a country’s economic growth. In its Vision 2035 Cameroon emphasizes this role. Given that one of the development objectives of the Vision 2035 is to reduce poverty to a socially acceptable level (DSCE 2009), the agro-industry sector can play a strategic role in pro-poor growth strategies. The development of agro-industry can have an important impact on the livelihoods of rural farmers, for example, creating possibilities for income generation and thus representing an important instrument for rural poverty reduction. On the other hand, agro-industrial development can also contribute to broad-based industrialization and to a diversification of the export base. It is generally accepted that economic growth depends on a combination of opportunities and political as well as policy choices (Collier & O’Connell, 2008). Cameroon has enormous potential for farming, livestock and fishery development alongside immense natural forest resources and considerable scope for the development of hydroelectric power. The distinctive opportunities open to Cameroon are as follows: an abundance of labour (as in most developing countries), land abundance and favourable agricultural potentials, 1 a diversified production and resource base, (i.e. Cameroon produces and exports a broad range of non-oil commodities), 2 and the position of the country as a net oil exporter, etc. In sum, Cameroon is blessed with a diversity of soils and weather patterns, high quality pasture land in the highlands and many areas suitable for fish farming. There is an enormous potential for both food crops and cash crops (cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, sugar 1
Cameroon has an area of 475,000 km2. The agricultural area represents on average 19 per cent of the total area use while the forest area represents 77 per cent of the total area use (Kobou et al. 2008).
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They include both natural resources and agricultural products, e.g. aluminum, cocoa, coffee, cotton, natural rubber, wood, etc. For instance, with a forest area of 17.5 million ha and an industrial round wood export volume of 1.28 million m3, Cameroon is among the world’s top five exporters of tropical logs (Wunder, 2005, p.70).
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