Rural women innovative agro forestry management systems as a basis for sustainable agriculture in Cameroon

This paper presents an analysis of various women locally led innovative agroforestry management systems in one forested community in Cameroon. It describes various locally generated sustainable agro-forestry conservations and tree management systems. It explains that a gap exists between locally led and external management forest agricultural systems. In the externally supported activities, the concept of participation is used to indicate that local women are participating in the implementation of innovative agro-forestry best practices that ensure and support sustainable agricultural best practices in the local communities. On the basis of these findings, the study identifies three actor categories, important for consideration in sustainable livelihood support agriculture; i.e. local farmers, village extension agricultural workers and supervisors. The relations between these village agriculture extension actor categories constitute a firm foundation for community forest management and development for replicable sustainable agricultural best practices. The paper also focuses on forest indigenous peopleâ??s limited understanding of climate change impacts on the environment and effects on agriculture and food security. It equally contributes to mainstreaming local womenâ??s adaptation to sustainable farming practices, sharing experiences of agroforestry conservation efforts and activities that promote positive results, outcomes and impacts result in oriented experiences that can be replicated in other communities using local farmers as main actors in sustainable agriculture and livelihood food security adaptation. The paper further explains the importance of developing working relationships and networks with government institutions, forest conservation and agricultural organizations in collaboration with forested people and communities. The paper concludes that local forested people and communities can educate their local populations on how to use their local ideas and initiatives for optimum adaptation to community agroforestry management practices that can encourage and support sustainable agriculture and ensure long term food security.

Author(s): Francis Njuakom Nchii

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