Water for Agriculture

In Cameroon, agriculture was the main source of growth and foreign exchange until 1978 when oil production replaced it as the cornerstone of growth for the formal economy. In 2004, agriculture contributed 44 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Agricultural development and productivity declined from neglect during the oil boom years of the early 1980s. Agriculture was the principal occupation of 56 percent of the economically active population in 2003, although only about 15.4 percent of the land was arable. In other to fertility of the “less arable soils” and boost productivity, most farmers and industries adopted modern agricultural practices and irrigation has been the widely used in almost all the regions in Cameroon. 

WHY IS IRRIGATION FUNDAMENTAL TO MOST CAMEROONIANS

In Cameroon, the situation is ominous: 29 000 Km² is equipped for irrigation out of an area that is 475 000 Km². In North West Cameroon for an example, which is considered to be the second poorest region in the country, yet the third most populated, agriculture is the main occupation for the people. What is obvious is that irrigation isn’t currently playing a significant role in Sub-Saharan African agriculture, despite its importance in tackling poverty, food shortages and malnutrition. Irrigation improves access to water, which is crucial in Cameroon’s dry season (which runs from mid-November to mid-March) to enable farmers to attain greater yields of crops. However, there is a clear evidence that most farmers in Cameroon are increasingly making use of irrigation technique to improve in their agricultural productivity because about 29 000 Hectares of land in Cameroon were equipped withirrigation in 2008 as compared to about 7 000 Hectares in 1970, and the process increases constantly.

This leaves a question to water sustainability in Cameroon; despite the constant reduction in the volume of the water basin as a result of climate change, human activities also put a train in the scares resource which is indispensible to livelihood.

For this reasons, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Strategies, Policies and procedures need to be adapted to define and provide pertinent solutions to the human need and pressure put on the water basins in Cameroon.

Partners of CECOSDA:

GWP

MINEPDED CAMEROON

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