Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T11:26:18.142Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Agricultural Intensification and Rural Development: The Mandara Mountains of North Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

James C. Riddell  and
David J. Campbell
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The debate over the severity of problems associated with rural food production and rural development in Africa has come to dominate much of the current public discussion of the continent. It is an area where Africanists can be legitimately expected to respond. Food shortages should be an anomaly in a continent where more than seventy percent of the population works in the rural sector. At the same time, with all of the reported economic difficulties, the last decade and a half has witnessed a significant acceleration in population growth (Faruquee and Gulhati, 1983:25). There are more mouths to feed at the same time as most studies are reporting that there is a decline in per capita production (Berg et al., 1981, 1984). These studies indicate that population is growing at somewhere between two and three percent or more per annum while the corresponding increase in food production is running between one and two percent or less. Increasing numbers of people each year reach maturity, making greater demands on fragile tropical soil resources and bringing ever-more marginal land into production (Riddell, 1982). It is a situation where dramatic changes, good or bad, will occur.

Several recent studies have cited the tremendous cost involved if African agricultural systems were to be modernized along Euro-American lines (FAO 1978; Berg et al., 1981; Christensen et al., 1981). For example, the International Food Policy Research Institute's (IFPRI) figures indicate that for twenty-four selected countries, mechanization and fertilizer costs alone would total more than $7.5 billion (US$ of 1975; figures cited in Nair, 1982).

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , September 1986 , pp. 89 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Azarya, . 1976. Domination and Change in North Cameroon: The Fulbe Aristocracy. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Beauvilain, A. 1980. “Les Migrations au Nord Cameroun.” Revue de Géographie du Cameroun 1(1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Berg, E. et. al 1981. Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Berg, E. 1984. Toward Sustained Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Bergman, T. 1981. “Structure and Role of the People's Communes in China.” Journal of Rural Cooperation 9:3–23.Google Scholar
Berry, L., Campbell, D. J., and Emker, I. 1977. “Trends in Man-Land Interaction in the West African Sahel,” pp. 83–92 in Dalby, D., Harrison-Church, R. J., and Bezzaz, F. (eds.) Drought in Africa 2. London: International African Institute.Google Scholar
Berry, S. S. 1984. “The Food Crisis and Agrarian Change in Africa: a Review Essay.” African Studies Review 26(2):59–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boserup, E. 1965. The Conditions of Agricultural Growth: The Economics of Agrarian Change Under Population Pressure. Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Boulet, J. 1975. Magoumaz: Etude d'un Terroir de Montaigne en Pays Mafa. Yaounde: OSTROM.Google Scholar
Boutrais, J. 1973. “La colonisation des plaines par les montagnards au nord du Cameroun (Monts Mandara).” Travaux et Documents de l'ORSTOM (Paris), 24.Google Scholar
Boutrais, J. 1978. “Compétition foncière et développement au nord du Cameroun, la plaine de Mora.” Cahiers de l'ONAREST 1 & 2:53–90.Google Scholar
Brandt, Harmut. 1979. Peasant Work Capacity and Agricultural Development. Berlin: German Development Institute.Google Scholar
Brookfield, H. C. 1972. “Intensification and Disintensification in Pacific Agriculture: A Theoretical Approach.” Pacific Viewpoint 13,30–48.Google Scholar
Brookfield, H. C. 1984. “Intensification Revisited.” Pacific Viewpoint 25(1): 15–44.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. J. 1981a. “Soils, Water Resources and Land Use in the Mandara Mountains of North Cameroon.” MSU/USAID Mandara Mountains Research Report 14, East Lansing: Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. J. 1981b. “Land Use Competition at the Margins of the Rangelands: An Issue in Development Strategies for Semi-Arid Areas,” pp. 39–61 in Norcliffe, G. and Pinfold, T. (eds.) Planning African Development. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. J., Lev, L., and Holtzman, J. 1980. “Results of a Socioeconomic Survey in the Department of Margui-Wandala and Arrondissement in Meri in North Cameroon, April-May 1980.” MSU/USAID, Mandara Mountains Research Report. East Lansing: Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. J., and Riddell, J. C. 1982. “Ecological Consequences of Population Growth and Land Use Change in the Mandara Mountains of North Cameroon.” East Lakes Geographer 17:5–16.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. J., and Riddell, J. C. 1984. “Social and Economic Change and the Intensity of Land Use in the Mandara Mountains Region of North Cameroon.” Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 75(5):335–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, D. J. and Trechter, D. T. 1982. “Strategies for Coping with Food Consumption Shortage in the Mandara Mountains Region of North Cameroon.” Social Science and Medicine 16: 2117–2127.Google Scholar
Castedoat, . 1930. L'Effort Francaise au Cameroun. Besanson: Imprimerie Jacques et Demontroud.Google Scholar
Chauleur, P. 1936. L'Oeuvre de la France au Cameroun. Yaoundé: Imprimerie du Gouvernement.Google Scholar
Christensen, C. et. al (eds.). 1981. “Food Problems and Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Decade of the 1980s.” USDA/ERS, Foreign Agricultural Research, Report, 166. Washington: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Colson, E. 1958. Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Connah, G. 1981. Three Thousand Years in Africa: Man and His Environment in the Lake Chad Region of Nigeria. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Diarra, S. 1975. “Les problèmes de contact entre les pasteurs peul et les agriculteurs dans le Niger central,” in Pastoralism in Tropical Africa edited by Monod, T., Chapter 6. Oxford: Oxford University Press/International African Institute.Google Scholar
Eicher, C. K. 1982. “Facing Up to Africa's Food Crisis.” Foreign Affairs 61:151–74.Google Scholar
Eicher, C. K., and Baker, C. 1982. “Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Survey.” International Development Papers, 1. East Lansing: Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1978. Regional Food Plan for Africa. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Faruquee, R. and Gulhati, R. 1983. Rapid Population Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Gleave, M. B. and White, H. P. 1969. “Population Density and Agricultural Systems in West Africa,” in Thomas, M.F. and Whittington, G. W. (eds.) Environment and Land Use in Africa. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Gonzales, N. L. 1982. “The Organization of Work in China's Communes.” Science 217:898–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hallaire, A. 1971. Hodogway. Paris: Mouton et ORSTOM.Google Scholar
Hallaire, A. and Barral, H. 1967. Atlas Régionale Mandara-Logone. Yaoundé: ORSTOM.Google Scholar
Hanway, G. 1979. “Ecofarming Concept in Multiple Grain Rotation with Minimal Tillage in Semi-arid Climates: Impact on Semi-arid Agriculture.” Paper presented at the Ninth International Congress of Plant Protection, Washington D.C. 5-11 August.Google Scholar
Hoben, A. 1976. “Social Soundness Analysis of the West Benoué Integrated Rural Development Proposal.” Yaoundé: USAID.Google Scholar
Hoben, A. 1986. “Assessing the Social Feasibility of Settlement Project in North Cameroon,” in Horowitz, M. and Painter, T. M. (eds.) Anthropology and Rural Development in West Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Holtzman, J. S. 1982. “A Socio-economic Analysis of Stall-fed Cattle Production and Marketing in the Mandara Mountains Region of Northern Cameroon.” Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing.Google Scholar
Hyden, G. 1976. Beyond Ujamaa. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Juillerat, B. 1971. “Les bases de l'organisation social chez les Moktèlè.” Memoires de l'Institut de I'Ethnologie, 8. Paris: Université de Paris.Google Scholar
Kuift, J. 1969. The Biology of Parasitic Flowering Plants. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Lambezat, B. 1950. “Kirdi. Les populations paiennes du nord-Cameroun.” Série Population, 3. Memoires IFAN, Paris.Google Scholar
Lavergne, G. 1944. “Le pays et la population Matakam.” Bulletin de la Société d'Etudes Camerounaises 7:7–14.Google Scholar
Ludwig, H. D. 1968. “Permanent Farming on Ukara: The Impact of Land Shortage on Husbandry Practices,” in Ruthenberg, H., (ed.) Smallholder Farming and Smallholder Development in Tanzania. Munchen: Weltforum Verlag.Google Scholar
Marliac, A. 1978. “Prospection des sites neolithiques et postneolithique au Diamaré (nord-Cameroun).” Cahiers ORSTOM, Série Sciences Humaines 15:333–351.Google Scholar
Martin, J. 1970a. “Essai d'histoire précoloniale du société Matakam.” Communication Presenté au Colloque International du CNRS sur le Cameroun.Google Scholar
Martin, J. 1970b. Les Matakam du Cameroun. Paris: ORSTOM.Google Scholar
McCown, R. L., Haaland, G., and de Haan, C. 1979. “The Interaction Between Cultivation and Livestock Production in Semi-Arid Africa.” Ecological Studies 34:297–332.Google Scholar
Mohammadou, E. 1965. L'Histoire de Tibati. Chefferie Foulbé du Cameroun. Yaoundé: Editions Abbia.Google Scholar
Mohammadou, E. 1981. “Introduction historique aux populations des monts du Mandara.” MSU/USAID, Mandara Mountains Research Report, 13. East Lansing: Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Mortimore, M. J. 1967. “Land and Population Pressure in the Kano Close-Settled Zone, Northern Nigeria.” The Advancement of Science 23(118):677–86.Google Scholar
Mouchet, J. J. 1947. “Prospection ethnologique sommaire dans les montagnes du Mandara.” Bulletin de a Société d'Etudes Camerounaises 17,18:99–140 and 19,20:93-104.Google Scholar
Mveng, E. 1963. Histoire du Cameroun. Paris: Presence African.Google Scholar
Nair, K. 1982. “Land and Labor Usage in Agriculture in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa: Impact on Employment, Production, productivity.” Paper prepared according to specifications of Cooperative Agreement between U.S. Agency for International Development and Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Naveh, Z. 1966. “The Development of Tanzania Masailand: A Sociological and Ecological Challenge.” Sols Africains II:499–517.Google Scholar
Netting, R. M. 1968. The Hill Farmers of Nigeria: Cultural Ecology of the Koyfar of the Jos Plateau. Seattle: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
ONAREST, 1971. Le Nord du Cameroun Bilan de Dix Ans de Recherches. Yaoundé: ONAREST.Google Scholar
Parsons, K. H. 1971. “Customary Land Tenure and the Development of African Agriculture.” Paper, 77, Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Pearse, A. 1980. Seeds of Plenty, Seeds of Want: Social and Economic Implications of the Green Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Podlewski, A. M. 1966. “ La dynamique des principales populations du Nord Cameroun .” Cahiers ORSTOM Serie Sciences Humaines, 111, 4.Google Scholar
Prefol, B., and Delepierre, G. 1975. “Disponsibilité et utilisation des terres au Rwanda.” Bulletin Agricole du Rwanda 8:115–125.Google Scholar
Raynaut, C. 1975. “Le cas de la region de Maradi (Niger),” in Copans, J. (ed.) Sécheresses et Famines du Sahel. Paris: Maspero.Google Scholar
Richards, P. 1983. “Ecological Change and the Politics of African Land Uses.” African Studies Review 25:1–72 Google Scholar
Riddell, J. C. 1979. “Land Tenure Issues in Ihe Rhodesia/Zimbabwe Transition.” Studies in Third World Societies 8:97–125.Google Scholar
Riddell, J. C. 1980. “Land Tenure and Access to Land in the Margui-Wandala Project Area.” MSU/USAID, Mandara Mountains Research Report, 3. East Lansing: Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Riddell, J. C. 1982. “The Causes of Deforestation and Forest and Woodland Degradation in tropical Africa.” Background Paper. Madison: Prepared for Office of Technology Assessment, U. S. Congress, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
République Unié du Cameroun. 1978. “Mission d'étudé d'amenagement de la vallee supérieure de la Benoué.” Rapport Trimestriel (Garoua).Google Scholar
Rudin, H. R. 1938. Germans in the Cameroons 1884-1914: A Case Study in Modern Imperialism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Swift, J. 1975. “Une économie nomade sahelienne face à la catastrophe. Les Touareg de l'Adrar des Iforas (Mali), in Copans, J. (ed.) Sécheresses et Famines du Sahel. Paris: Maspero.Google Scholar
Toulmin, C. 1983. “Herders and Farmers or Farmer-herders and Herder-farmers?” Pastoral Network Paper 15. London : ODI.Google Scholar
Turner, B. L., Hariham, R. Q., and Portararo, A.V. 1977. “Population Pressure and Agricultural Intensity.” Annals, Association of American Geographers 67:384–96.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture. 1978. hwentaire de Resources du Nord Cameroun Afrique. Washington: USDA, Soil Conservation Service.Google Scholar
Vaillant, A. 1947. “Une Enquéte Agricole Chez les Wazam.” Bulletin de la Sociéti d'Etudes Camerounaises 17/18:41–98.Google Scholar
Vermeer, D. E. 1970. “Population Pressure and Crop Rotational Changes among the Tiv of Nigeria.” Annals, Association of American Geographers 60:299–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zalla, T., Campbell, D. J., Holtzman, J., Lev, L., and Trechter, D. 1981. “Agricultural Production Potential in the Mandara Mountains in Northern Cameroon.” MSU Rural Development Series, Working Paper 18. East Lansing: Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University.Google Scholar