Opportunities to responsible land-based investments in Central Africa

Large-scale land-based investments in Central Africa are not new, however, the years 2000s have seen a renewed interest in agriculture by foreign investors. This new rush for farm land involved multi-national holdings new in the region and sometimes in the sector. With a focus on five countries of the region hosting the majority of the Congo Basin natural forests: Cameroon, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Republic of Congo (Congo), Central African Republic (CAR), this paper looks at this recent wave of investments in farm lands, and discusses their specificities, the ways the host countries deal with investors, and the impacts on livelihoods and on forest cover that these large-scale projects might have. The analysis draws on scientific literature and media reports review, an assessment of large scale land acquisitions for agricultural expansion, logging, conservation, or mining projects, and field surveys conducted in 2012 and 2013 in Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo where key stakeholders have been interviewed (representatives of the various ministries involved in large-scale land deals, managers from the private sector presently investing in land-based projects, NGOs, land and tenure experts, villagers nearby on-going land-based projects). (Résumé d'auteur

Transfer of the Asian model of oil palm development: from Indonesia to Cameroon

Agricultural expansion to the detriment of natural forest is a well-known cause and consequence of economic development. Boom crops are exported cash crops developing very quickly in a region, in answer to a high demand on the international market. They may be brought by huge projects generally involving partnerships between governments and agribusiness companies. The livelihoods impacts on local peoples raise concerns among outsiders, who point at the risks of unfairness, manipulation and abuses of the population; examples abound in the oil palm sector in Indonesia, and in rubber development in Southeast China and Laos. Another major concern is the direct consequence of rapid conversion of large areas into plantations, which can have a direct impact on local people's access to land, and can induce the displacement of food crop production, and cause direct or indirect deforestation. Oil palm development in Southeast Asia is the most recent and noteworthy boom crop. Based on literature review, qualitative information gathered during a sharing and learning workshop and speech analysis, and the authors' experience of oil palm development in Indonesia, the paper questions the impacts that a transfer of the Asian model of oil palm development to Cameroon might have. (Résumé d'auteur

The global problematic of diversification for rice/treecrops smallholders in Southeast Asia : an example with rubber diversification and its impacts on family farmers' income in Mimot district (Kompong Cham province, Kingdom of Cambodia)

Ecological vs economical sustainability of agricultural development is discussed in the first part of the paper to present the global problematic of rice/tree-crop for smallholders in Southeast Asia. An example is provided through a case study carried out in 2004 in Kompong Cham province (Cambodia), for the Family Rubber Project. The aim of this prospective analysis is to evaluate the impact of diversification with rubber cropping for smallholders and farms' ability to face risk when rubber provides a regular income improving the families' cash flow. The project offers technical support, a particular smallholders' expectations, and a planting credit allowing small and medium-scale farmers to avoid incurring debt towards local landlords at excessive rates. However; the selection criteria of candidates depends on their ability to reimburse the project, excluding de facto the poorest farmers. Thus the question of the compatibility of developing the rubber sector and helping the poorest farmers remains. (Résumé d'auteur

Industrial investments in agriculture in Central Africa. Establishing the conditions for sustainability and equity

In Central Africa, industrial investments in agriculture have been increasing for the last ten years, constituting one of the many drivers of deforestation. If these investments are to contribute to socioeconomic development without harming the environment,they need to be more effectively monitored.Analysing successes and failures in four Central African countries helps to identify ways to increase the chances of success for projects: carrying out independent impact assessments before projects are launched; obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of the communities concerned; and encouraging companies to meet certification criteria. The host governments should be able to take advantage of actions by people- and environment-friendly companies in order to create a virtuous circle, and should build agro-industrial projects around national land use plans

Deforestation for food production

Deforestation contributes to carbon emissions and therefore to climate change. Within food systems, agricultural production is the stage which plays the largest role in deforestation and forest degradation, and it is therefore the focus of this chapter. There is a critical link between food systems and deforestation. Arable lands most often have a forested past. It might be ancestral, with deforestation having happened in the early occupation of land by humans or be very recent on current forest frontiers. Over the past two decades, commercial agriculture has overtaken subsistence agriculture as the main driver of deforestation in LI and LMI countries, especially in tropical areas

Oil palm in Cameroon: risks and opportunities

Oil palm is a native of the central African region, and has been cultivated in Cameroon since times immemorial to produce cooking oil, palm wine, and soap. In 2011, about 100 000 ha of oil palm were grown by small and medium holders and 70 000 ha were owned and exploited by agro-industries. This area is not productive enough to cover the domestic needs for oil, and the country imports about 50 000 tons of crude palm oil per year (CPO/year). As a consequence the government wants to develop the sector, and explore several possibilities, including foreign investment in oil palm plantations. A major concern of the civil society is the direct consequence of rapid expansion of oil palm plantations, which can impact on local people's access to land, induce the displacement of (other) food crop production, and directly or indirectly cause deforestation (indirectly where other crops are displaced and forests converted to new agricultural land). The paper questions the risks and opportunities of further oil palm development in Cameroon. (Réumé d'auteur

Modelling as a tool for spatial planning of commodity production: the example of certified oil palm plantations in Central Africa

The Central African region is targeted by agri-business companies as a suitable place to develop large plantations. Most of the existing assessments of available land are based on an a priori definition of availability and without any operational-level rules of sustainability. We intend to estimate the potential for a sustainable development of oil palm plantations in the Republic of Congo, taking into account spatial constraints linked to RSPO certification standard and groundchecked social realities. The analysis builds on an assessment of current land uses and prospects and on spatial analysis. Spatial constraints are combined so as to circumscribe areas suitable for oil palm, available for development, responding to the sustainability criteria of RSPO and adequate to the technical model proposed. This analysis results in an estimation of 10.7 Million ha theoretically suitable for oil palm. From this, 1.4 Mha should be available but the technical model applied limits this area to 1.1 Mha adequate for industrial plantations, and 0.1 Mha adequate for smallholdings. Explicit spatial modelling of sustainable production is possible at national scale. This tool allows to take into account the certification standards in land use planning and to highlight new possible areas of development outside natural forests. (Résumé d'auteur