How can poverty be reduced among small-scale farmers in the highlands of western Cameroon?

Abstract

The article discusses, on the basis of the situation of small-scale farmers in the western highlands of Cameroon, strategies that may reduce their poverty. Background information about Cameroon is given in order to situate the study and discussion in an empirical context that may facilitate a better understanding of the plight of these farmers and their choices at the local level. The data were collected by two quantitative surveys and one qualitative study in the period 2008 to 2013. The question is what choices the farmers really have in this context. A number of such choices are described and their realism debated. It is argued that the strategy, promoted by leading international organisations, of improving the productivity of small-scale farming while it still remains at a small scale, is doomed to fail to reduce poverty. Instead, the focus should be on how to make small-scale farmers become middle-sized commercial producers.