Towards Food Sovereignty in Cameroon: Indigenous Food Practices and Community Grain Banks in the MayoTsanaga Division of the Far North Region

Abstract

Food security is a term defined in 1996 by the World Food Summit as a situation where everyone has both economic and physical access to nutritious and safe food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This concept also became a priority during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and later the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to combat world hunger by 2030. However, the term ‘food security’ has faced criticism for overlooking indigenous knowledge and practices in addressing the food crisis and for misrepresenting marginalized populations. Because of these limitations, the term ‘food sovereignty’ is increasingly adopted to amplify marginalized voices in tackling the food crisis. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with NGO staff and project beneficiaries on the management of grain banks in Mayo Tsanaga, Cameroon. The study highlights how community-managed grain banks, locally adapted farming strategies, and traditional knowledge systems offer a culturally grounded, self-reliant response to food insecurity. Though these practices may not be unique to Cameroon, this case provides a distinct model of grassroots resilience and indigenous governance that challenges top-down development frameworks and offers policy-relevant insights for decolonizing food systems. By sharing this information, we continue the work of endorsing bottom-up, grassroots approaches in surmounting hunger in our different communities