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Cameroon Agribusiness Report Q1 2009
Business Monitor International, Feb 2009, Pages: 34
The Cameroon Agribusiness service provides proprietary medium term price forecasts for key commodities, including corn, wheat, rice, sugar, cocoa, coffee, soy and milk; in addition to newly-researched competitive intelligence on leading agribusiness producers, traders and suppliers; in-depth analysis of latest industry developments; and essential industry context on Cameroon's agribusiness service.
Cameroon, with its diversity of terrain and climatic conditions, is one of Africa's best endowed countries in terms of primary commodity production. The country has 469,000 sq km of land of which just over 12% is arable, while only 2% of this farmable land is used for the production of permanent crops. Selfsufficient in agricultural production until the late 1970s, recent efforts by the government, in conjunction with renewed interest from the private sector, has seen investment and henceforth the potential of the local sector increase in recent years. The author’s Cameroon Agribusiness Report Q1 2009 looks at the country's main agricultural commodity fundamentals in the context of their future potential for growth and expansion.
A sustained economic crisis, starting in the mid-1980s and lasting almost 20 years, decimated the production of several of Cameroon's main agricultural exports, such as cocoa and coffee. Many farmers abandoned their plantations on the back of falling demand. The government tried to initiate a national produce marketing board, which provided finance to farmers, but it subsequently collapsed. However, the government has shown tenacity in its efforts to improve the plight of its producers and, in light of this determination, the Cameroon Cocoa and Coffee Board was created in 1991 to stimulate production, regulate marketing and monitor the quality of cocoa and coffee produced for export.
Thanks to several government and donor-backed measures, the country has witnessed steady growth in cocoa exports, especially with increased investment and improved farming practices. The increased production has made Cameroon the world's fifth largest cocoa producer, with 179,000 tonnes produced in 2007, although of late there has been widespread concern over the possibility that the financial crisis will cut demand. The author believes that solid fundamentals are in place to take agricultural production forward, with strong output gains predicted for every major commodity group. The industry has benefited from public and private schemes aimed at harmonising growth and sustainability strategies between the state, private individuals and multi-national corporations.
On a slightly sourer note, corruption and illegal activities threaten to hamper the positive prospects of local agricultural production. Smuggling cheaper international produce across the Nigerian border has led to many producers stockpiling goods which they cannot sell due to higher production costs. Furthermore, the diversion of government development funds to private individuals has meant that adequate levels of state investment are being curtailed. However, despite these caveats to development, we believe that Cameroon's fertile soils will continue to be an attractive source of revenue for local and overseas entrepreneurs in a time of food insecurity and increasing land constraints around the world.
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