Agri-Aqua inclusive venture

Animal-husbandry, Aqua-culture, Heli-culture, Fruits and Vegetables

We are grateful for the opportunity to have met and worked with 41 local communities around Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP) during our research field survey from October to December 2013 (Fig. 1). Our project was focused on assessing the level of community involvement in the MCNP REDD+ conservation projects. Results showed that food insecurity, malnutrition, land grabbing and poverty were some of the factors preventing full community engagement in MCNP interventions. Providing alternative livelihoods (animal husbandry, aqua culture, heliculture ...) to generate new income streams, practicing mixed-crop farming and interspacing fruit trees in crop farms were highly recommended to enhance food yield. Our research will be useless if we cannot lead the changes recommended in our own publications. The Forgotten Green Heroes (TFGH) inclusive venture was established in 2014 to address these issues of food insecurity, poverty, malnutrition and enhance local adaptive capacity to climate change. We started in a very small scale in 2014, however, we are ready to scale up in 2018. Stay tuned!

Some pictures from research field survey (Nvenakeng Suzanne Awung, 2013)

Agribusiness is today’s most feasible option

If you train a woman, you have train a generation

In Sub-Sahara Africa, women’s land-rights are limited by some traditional norms. Only about 1% of women actually own land and some 10% qualify for agricultural loan. Despite these limitations, 80% of them are agricultural workers cultivating 90% of food consumed locally and producing 80% of developing world’s food.

The African woman is the greatest climate change burden bearer walking for miles across harsh terrain to fetch water, fuel-wood, cultivating and harvesting crops and this has exposed them to threat of violence and rape as they need to fetch water in faraway distances. Drought and landslide can also separate families exposing women to human trafficking, starvation and loss of life in a blink of an eye.

Train a woman and you would have train and maintain a household, which is the fundamental unit of any community. There is need to provide enough support and training on sustainable agriculture, agro-forestry and other income generating activities like animal husbandry, aqua-culture and small businesses to alleviate poverty, improve livelihood and helps mitigate and adapt to climate change. Empowering women to embark on sustainable agricultural and socio-economic activities enable them to improve their lifestyles and fully participate in community development. Women have proven to be the backbone of any economy.

We would sensitise the men and broaden their views to understand the essence of including a woman’s place at discussion table. Women will be given the right tools and training to build assets and income so that they too will realise their rights, access basic social services, be self-reliance and fully participate in sustainable community development. Support us raise awareness and change the life of marginalized women for improved livelihood and well-being of their families and communities.

"Let's lead the change before climate change changes us"

Dr. Nvenakeng Suzanne Awung