Yaounde,
19 April 2013 – Community-based farming in South West Cameroon could
increase food security while protecting the region’s rich forests,
according to a report released today by ACDIC (Association Citoyenne
pour la Defense des Interêts Collectifs), commissioned by Greenpeace
Africa. Agriculture systems and food security in Toko, Mundemba, and
Nguti, in South-West Cameroon, assess how small-scale farming can offer a
responsible development path, in contrast to a proposed industrial palm
oil plantation in the region, which
threatens local livelihoods and the environment.
This
report follows a joint Greenpeace-ACDIC workshop which was held in the
town of Kumba on April 16, to engage with communities and local
authorities on food security, land rights and forest protection. The
workshop, which was attended by approximately 90 people, identified
technical support for farmers, access to land and producing food locally
for local consumption as some of the key factors in achieving food
security and protection of biodiversity.
“All
too often, we are told that there is only one way for Cameroon to
develop: to sign over land to large-scale industry projects,” says Irene
Wabiwa, Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Africa. “This report is
important because it provides guidance towards a genuine alternative,
which meets economic, social and environmental objectives in the best
interests of the Cameroonian people.”
The
report describes how cacao yields in the South West, which provides 70%
of Cameroon’s cacao production, can be improved through training,
better organization and market access. Cacao is usually grown in the
shade of trees which supply the farmers with
additional products like fruit and vegetables, while maintaining the
forest canopy.
Ecological
farming offers a positive and viable alternative to the 73,000 hectare
palm oil project proposed by US-based corporation Herakles Farms, which
would jeopardize the livelihoods of more than 14,000 people who
currently live and farm in the project area. These communities are
dependent on the forests for food, building materials and medicine.
Fearful of losing their lands and livelihoods, some local people have
protested against the project, and have faced intimidation and arrest as
a result.
These
fears are based on the impact of previous agro-industrial development
by CDC, Palmol, Delmonte and CTE, which resulted in large amounts of
land coming under the control of corporations, and restrictions on
community access to infrastructure. This has driven up local food
prices, by reducing the amount of farming land available, and increased
the cost of housing, transportation and other basic commodities as
labourers are brought into the area to work.
Greenpeace
is campaigning for the palm oil industry and investors to implement a
transparent ‘Zero Deforestation Policy’, which respects
the rights and livelihoods of local communities and ensures the
protection of natural forest.
“Herakles
should respect the land rights of these communities, who have not been
properly consulted on the plantation,” says Irene Wabiwa, Forest
Campaigner for Greenpeace Africa. “Greenpeace supports the call by
Cameroonian NGOs for a moratorium on the allocation of new
agro-industrial concessions, until clear land use planning, which takes
into account existing land rights and adequate support for
community-based farming, is implemented.”
Notes to the Editor
- Greenpeace Africa’s Zero Deforestation policy is no direct human-induced conversion of forest to non-forests. This does not apply to small-scale low intensity subsistence conversion.
- Ecological Farming ensures healthy farming and healthy food for today and tomorrow, by protecting soil, water and climate, promotes biodiversity, and does not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs or genetic engineering.
Media contacts
Greenpeace:
Alexa Phillips, Forests Communications Coordinator, Greenpeace Africa:
+27 798945277alexa.phillips@greenpeace.org
Irene Wabiwa, Forest Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa:
+237 93714286,irene.wabiwa@greenpeace.org
ACDIC:
Martin Nzegang, Head of Research, ACDIC: + 237 77 89 24 60, martin.nzegang@yahoo.com
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment