Policies that Reflect Cameroon’s Local Context Work Better

‘”Cassava is the Second Most Consumed Food in Cameroon and the Most Important Source of Carbohydrate in Africa”.

Introduction

Cassava is one of the most consumed food crops in Cameroon, but Cameroon faces a structural deficit of around 300 – 500, 000 tons. Cameroon produces about 15 million tons of cassava annually, but output remains low due to the continued use of subsistence farming methods. Historically, as in all Central African countries, cassava serves as a buffer against crises as it is relatively cheap compared to imported rice. Furthermore, its relative tolerance for poor soils and climatic hazards makes it a safety net crop. It, it directly contributes to the food security of rural households, the incomes of millions of producers and processors, and the supply of affordable staple foods to urban markets. This article is a brief overview of the sector and five key actions to improve the resilience of the supply chain and ensure balanced and sustainable development for all actors.

Beyond production, transformation into flakes and other consumer products remains limited. The European Union Value Chain Analysis for Development (EUVCA4D) study for the cassava value chain reveals that the sector faces several constraints that include poor organization and planning, limited access to credit and the market, and high transportation and transaction costs. Furthermore, climate change is accelerating soil degradation, increasing recovery times, and accelerating carbon emissions.

Cassava is primarily produced for subsistence and local markets

It is equally processed into products such as fufu, garri, and cassava chips. This involved labor-intensive manual operations such as grating, fermenting, and drying that remain dominated by small informal production units. The processing segments are poorly structured but remain a key sector for rural non-agriculture employment, driven by both informal production units and women-led enterprises. However, mechanised forms of processing are slowly being used to produce starch, bread flour, and tapioca, which supply both urban centres and regional export markets in Central Africa and Europe.

Low Production Keeps Prices High

Cameroon wants to industrialise the sector and has implemented several reforms to boost its development of the sector. However, these reforms have neither boosted production nor improved the value and quality of processed goods. Cameroon produces about 15 million tons of cassava every year, with a structural deficit that ranges from 300,000 to 500,000 tons. The retail price range in CFA Franc BEAC for cassava is between XAF 1,848.00 and XAF 2,464.00 per kilogram or between XAF 838.10 and XAF 1,117.46 per pound. In a country where the minimum wage for public sector, agriculture, and non-agriculture workers stands at FCFA 43,969 per month, FCFA 60,000 per month, and FCFA 45,000 per month, respectively.

Prices are susceptible to input costs and fertiliser prices. While the government has suspended import duties on agricultural inputs and equipment and lowered VAT on locally made cassava flour, these reforms are not sufficient. This is because Cameroon’s cassava value chain is comprised of informal actors who do not feel the benefits of these reforms. While the government suspended import duties on fertilisers in the 2023 budget, the average price of fertiliser was virtually unchanged – a 50kg bag of urea cost FCFA 43,188, and this could be significantly higher in conflict-hit areas like the South West and North West.

Reforms Work Well When They Are Well Designed and Targeted

Africans are quick to say we shouldn’t copy and paste policies from the West, and we should design policies that fit our local context. But that is never the case. Most, if not all, policies were copied from the West.

• Britain has imposed import duty suspensions on equipment and machinery since 1945. As early as 1878, there were already deductions for replacement and depreciation of said material, and informal sector unemployment was 30-40%.
• In the 1970, China went beyond suspending import duties for fertiliser to supporting imported machinery. Informal sector employment was less than 20%.

A formal labor market and better enforcement capacity meant farmers could benefit from these reforms. It is no surprise that these countries are self-sufficient today, relying on imports but producing significant amounts of food for their populations. We can localise reforms and incentives better by ensuring sellers publish their prices to ensure that farmers in the informal sector benefit from reforms that lower import prices. We need to structure our markets better, linking cassava producers to baker’s and enforcing the 3-5% cassava use in bakery products to stabilise the market for farmers, especially informal ones.

A Large Market Will Boost Supply and Value-Added Products over the Long Run

The government mandates all bakeries to use 3-5% of local cassava flour in bread, but enforcement is weak. Once again, this policy makes no allowances to integrate informal sector cassava producers. If informal production units supply at least 40% of cassava flour, it will be more inclusive and will likely succeed, as more farmers will scale their farms if they know where their cassava will be used. Once again, we cannot design policies that only target formal cassava producers and manufacturers – we must make sure policies reflect the structure of the labor market.

This is not only a criticism for policymakers but also for institutes and all stakeholders. In 2025, our institute (CEPI) advocated for all bakery products to include 3-5% of locally-made cassava flour, but we failed to spell out clearly how to include informal sector cassava producers.

What Does the EU Value Chain Analysis for Cassava Reveal

The conditions for the free markets to thrive are slowly coming together; the challenge is ensuring that the majority of producers aren’t excluded from such a system. The role of policy is to set the rules that govern trade and allow markets to develop. Policymakers are not really the free market, but they need to reduce their import bill for flour from Canada, France, etc. Cameroonians are already making cassava, maize, and yam flour, but there needs to be a ready market for it.

It is easier to create a market than to regulate it. So, ensuring bakeries buy from local producers will reinforce demand, accelerate investments, and create a self-sustaining market. Now that a market for locally-made flour exists, we must ensure bakeries begin integrating its use across all products. They should be incentivized rather than being ordered to buy from small holders. For example, we can make the cost of machinery in bakeries tax-deductible if bakeries buy 40% of their flour from local producers.

Do these Reforms align with the free markets?

The Free markets include limited government, which is satisfied in this case, as the government has mandated the use of locally-made flour and has leeway for companies to adapt. It is somewhat ludicrous that Cameroon is unable to integrate locally-made flour into bakery products after 66 years of independence. The private sector cannot integrate the informal sector into its value chains unless policy allows it. Ultimately, the bakeries will choose who they buy from, but the ability to source cassava flour from informal production units is vital to stabilise farmer revenues and support a more inclusive development vis-à-vis the free markets.

Conclusion

Cameroon’s decision to include locally-made flour in bakery products is great. But we must localise policy reforms to ensure that we account for our vast informal sectors and actors. Policy incentives should be directed towards a mode of operation that favors the inclusion of informal cassava production units. For Cameroon’s 800,000 cassava producers, inclusion is a matter of survival. Stabilising revenues will incentivise industralisationa nd economic transformation. This will allow the free markets to advance sustainable development in an evidence-based manner, and allow policymakers to adjust policies as they see fit.

Author

Henri Kouam, Economist & Executive Director

Haiwang Djamo, National Coordinator & Research Analyst