**3.2 Economic impacts of oil palm**

In Sanaga Maritime, 51% of the population admitted that oil palm enable them to validly meet their existential needs [5]. For the elite, this is a sector where people


**Table 9.**

*Landscapes trend arrows and scores in Ekondo-Titi, Ngwéi and Sanaga Maritime.*

#### *Environmental Impacts of the Oil Palm Cultivation in Cameroon DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97862*

invest to earn extra income or prepare for retirement. In the elaeisfarming areas of Cameroon, an abundance of direct or indirect activities linked to this sector makes it possible to more or less effectively rule out the specter of unemployment and poverty. In terms of employment and the local economy, results show that oil palm has a positive impact with scores ranking from 3.6 to 4 despite its overwhelming negative biophysical impact (**Table 10**).

Jobs and revenues generated by the various activities related to the establishment, maintenance and operation of a palm plantation (planting and plant maintenance, transport of FFB and oil extraction) constitute the most visible face of its socio-economic impacts able to boost the local economy if the sustainability conditions are fulfilled. Several aspects of this positive impact are to be noticed (1): the sale of FFB by farmers and elites to agro-industries; (2) the establishment of modern mills; (3) Significant induced impacts linked to a flowering of secondary processing industries in Cameroon (soap factories, cosmetics); (4) The sale of artisanally or semi-mechanically extracted oil to soap factories, on local and regional markets or at the roadside; (5) the development of income-generating activities and petty trade in these villages thanks to the oil palm cultivation; and (6) the development of cooperatives based on existing CIGs will constitute the final stage of this economic facet observed in both districts. The population perception is resumed in **Table 11**. One can observe better results in income level, Job creation and welfare while quality of social network and social infrastructure remain lukewarm.

From an economic standpoint, the benefits of oil palm cultivation are undeniable. This profitability explains the rapid development of the "red gold". Nevertheless, the contribution of the palm plantation to the local economy and to the well-being of neighboring populations does not always meet expectations. The benefits for the national economy must also be optimized. Palm oil being a source of financial evasion, it is necessary to ensure the autonomy of Cameroon in order, as much as possible, to avoid imports.

On the economic point of view, **palm oil appears as one of the most profitable land uses in the tropics because for the most producing countries, it significantly contributes to the national economies and to reduce poverty elsewhere in the producing countries** at local, regional, and national levels [30–33]. In the main producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, oil palm accounts for 10% of total national exports and 44% of world palm oil exports. This data is reduce by half in several smaller producing countries, such as Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Guatemala, palm oil exports account for around 5% of total national exports [28]. This explains why oil palm generates higher incomes than rubber or cocoa and other commodities, which occupy a prominent place in exports. Cocoa, for example, represents 15% of Côte d'Ivoire's GDP and 40% of merchandise exports [34]. These laudatory results (at the economic level) are obtained mainly thanks to a cash crop organized and carried out with methods which give absolute priority to the best yields. Most of these authors show that small farmers are the most beneficial of the boom of oil palm worldwide [22, 26–28]. Despite contradictions on assessment of this economic effects of oil palm, it is evident that elaeis farming has improved incomes for rural people and supported the development of rural economies and the economies of producer countries overall.

### **3.3 Social impacts in the oil palm sector in Cameroon**

As observed on the field, social impacts must include social protection, collective bargaining, inclusive dialogue, conflict resolution, health risk, corporate social responsibility and environmental justice. These questions variably challenge the

### Elaeis guineensis

