An ambitious new project to redesign agricultural practices and food stability is currently underway in Cameroon. The project is managed by the CDVTA, Community Development Volunteers for Technical Assistance, in collaboration with the Association for Vertical Farming and aims to improve the lives of rural farmers in North West Cameroon by developing local skills and knowledge.

Factors such as migration, population growth, and increasing demand for fuel wood, expanding agricultural activities and a lack of alternative sources of employment and income for the population pose a threat to the environmental, economic and social functions of Cameroon’s forest ecosystems.

Paradoxically, the poor are heavily concentrated in the most environmentally vulnerable regions. The four poorest regions (the Far-North, the North, the North-West and Adamawa) are home to 80% of the country’s poor (World Bank, 2018).  Most of these regions are ecologically fragile and are already subject to an increased incidence of drought, high temperatures, water shortages and salinization of water and soil, due to climate change.

The project hopes to alleviate poverty and food insecurity in the region by helping farmers to improve crop yield, maximize income profit and protect the natural environment. Training will empower farmers to combat food insecurity caused by natural disasters and climate change through improving knowledge of vertical farming, soil management and tree domestication. The project will also establish an agricultural and vertical farming demonstration facility that can teach crop management and offer further training to those in the locality. This training has the ability to positively impact 1000 small-holders farms across 20 rural communities and improve the lives of those in the region significantly.

The CDVTA is a well-established charity that has community development at its heart. The project partners AVF /CDVTA are currently looking to secure €225,000 to help realize its ambitions and put the 2-year project into action. The CDVTA and AVF would therefore welcome contact from readers or organizations who are willing to fund or are aware of relevant grants and schemes that could help push this project forward.

 

Contact our chairwoman Christine Zimmermann-Lössl to know more about this initiative; czl@vertical-farming.net