Page 22 - AWA Vol.42-No.1 issue

CROP PROTECTION

Dwindling abundance

Communities turn to farming and beekeeping to adapt to

climate change in Cameroon

In the great equatorial forest of east-
ern Cameroon, the Baka people have
lived for centuries in harmony with
the environment, hunting and gath-
ering and relying on nature’s abun-
dance for their food and way of life.
But in recent years, several events
have led to mounting pressure on
natural resources. Frequent climate
shocks, such as droughts and floods,
economic instability, encroachment
on territories and conflicts - both
within the country and in neighbor-
ing Central African Republic - have
triggered a massive influx of refu-
gees and internally displaced peo-
ple.
For the Baka living in Mayos, a vil-
lage in Dimako district with nearly
600 inhabitants, the impact has been
profound. Food scarcity has meant
long treks into the forest. Children
have missed school to join their
parents in search of cassava leaves,
sometimes walking more than 50 ki-
lometers. Baka elders fear their tra-
ditional knowledge is disappearing,
with no clear alternative. From the outset, FAO prioritized ting trees and long, uncertain trips,”
“Today, we live from farming, but consultation with the Baka people says Angoula Nestor, a new Baka
that wasn’t always the case. Our par- and communication in their lan- beekeeper. “Now, with training and
ents lived from hunting, gathering guage. The Baka people are central protective gear, we harvest clean,
and foraging,” recalls Dieudonné to the project’s monitoring commit- high-quality honey and earn enough
Noutcheguenou, Elder within the tees, helping tailor interventions to support our families. I really enjoy
Baka people in Mayos. while respecting traditional know- this activity and hope to learn how to
New opportunities for resilience how. build hives myself so I can become
Between April 2024 and June 2025, FAO Representative in Camer- self-sufficient.”
the Food and Agriculture Organiza- oon, Antonio Querido, emphasizes, Mama Angelina Efouma, a grand-
tion of the United Nations (FAO), in “PULCCA is not only an emergen- mother in her seventies caring for 10
partnership with the Government cy response to the food crisis. It is a grandchildren, says: “My main con-
of Cameroon and with World Bank commitment to strengthen the resil- cern is being able to keep working
funding, implemented the Emergen- ience of communities in situations of and feeding my family.” She consid-
cy Project to Combat the Food Cri- vulnerability, especially Indigenous ers this project a lifeline. “I’m still ac-
sis in Cameroon (PULCCA), offering Peoples, so that they become full ac- tive. I know the land well. I plant cas-
training on new options of producing tors in their own development.” sava and macabo. This project helps
food for households hit hardest by The project also implemented a us enormously.”
climate shocks. farmer field school dedicated to cas- Today in Mayos, cassava, once
sava cultivation, which now serves as
In Mayos, the Baka people received scarce, is grown locally. Honey, har-
structured, participatory support that a collective learning space - a labo- vested safely, has become a source
blended traditional knowledge with ratory of shared knowledge where of income and pride.
modern agricultural techniques. men and women experiment and ex- As Elder Noutcheguenou says, “This
Production kits distributed included change ideas. project allows us to produce for our-
plantain and cassava cuttings, yam Beekeeping has opened a new eco- selves, without depending on others.
seedlings, small ruminants and poul- nomic path and provided incomes Our children can eat at home and go
try. More than 30 training sessions that have boosted school attendance to school more easily. It’s a real.
introduced farming and beekeeping and nutrition.
practices adapted to local conditions. “Before, collecting honey meant cut- Circle 22 on enquiry card

20 Vol. 42 No. 1