**2. Terms and conditions for developing soybean cultivation in the Cameroonian cotton basin**

#### **2.1 Cotton crisis as a vector to popularise soybeans**

Cotton cultivation is at the heart of multiple challenges in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon (**Figure 1**) [28–30]. The sector experienced a serious crisis from 2006 to 2011 following the constitution by China of large stocks of cotton fibre (EU-ACP, 2015), with the consequence of a drastic fall in production from 315,000 tonnes in 2005 to 180,000 tonnes in 2011 (FAOSTAT). The number of producers increased from 360,000 in 2006 to around 250,000 over the same period, following the drop in the purchase price of seed cotton from producers. The consequences of this fall in the purchase price were dramatic for the producer, given the function of supporting all the charges for agricultural inputs of food crops (cereals, legumes) that cotton plays [28, 29, 31]. They were more so for SODECOTON (drastic fall in the tonnage of exported fibre and seeds for the production of vegetable oil and cottonseed meal for animal feed).

In 2006, SODECOTON initiated a crop diversification project through a feasibility study of soybeans and sunflower as a rotation crop with cotton [32]. This initiative will be avant-garde to the most severe production crisis that SODECOTON will experience between 2008 and 2011, with respectively 185,000 tonnes of unginned cotton produced, 140,000 tonnes, 190,000 tonnes and 180,000 tonnes, compared to 315,000 tonnes in 2005 (peak production which has never reached SODECOTON again9 ). The results of the study foreshadowed the prospects for a possible diversification crop for soybeans,<sup>10</sup> mainly in the cotton front (Mayo-Rey Division) unlike sunflowers.

**Figure 1.** The Cameroonian cotton basin, a soybean production area.

<sup>9</sup> Data available on the FAO website (http://www.fao.org/faostat/fr/#data/QC), accessed on June 28, 2020.

<sup>10</sup> The so-called "local" soybean varieties (Houla 1, Houla 2, TGX-849-29-4D, Carrefour Nari, Ngong and Pitoa 2) had an average yield of 1600 kg / ha, more attractive than the varieties imported from IITA of Ibadan and Brazil [31].

The SODECOTON diversification project was implemented as from the 2008 agricultural season through two strategic pillars: the pre-financing of agricultural inputs (fertilizers, herbicides) intended for soybeans for cotton producers<sup>11</sup>; and the purchase of crops. The rapid increase in production (**Figure 2**) however, was followed by four difficulties which led to the termination of the project after 2011:

**2.2 Towards a dynamics of extension of the production basin**

space as in family and salaried agricultural labour.

Interest which cover nearly 50% of the North Region).

• Threshing soybeans for seeds extraction.

burning);

• Sowing;

• Harvests;

the labour force is called upon to perform several tasks (**Table 1**):

• Crops maintenance (fertiliser and herbicide spreading, weeding);

12 Source: North Regional Delegation for Agriculture and Rural Development (2020).

In the North Region, the main production basin of the entire Sudano-Sahelian region, the cultivated area increased from less than 6,000 ha in 2008 to 68,000 ha in 2019.<sup>12</sup> The activity brings together nearly 50,000 producers, at least 35% of whom have abandoned cotton growing in favour of soybeans. And owing to their status as crops which are almost entirely intended for the domestic and cross-border market, the two speculations compete as much in the use of

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From a spatial point of view, soybeans are indeed developing in the new cotton basin of the Mayo-Rey Division, opened within the framework of the "Programme of migration and agricultural support services" implemented by the State of Cameroon from 1974 to 1997. This programme made it possible to move and supervise the settlement of more than 200,000 migrants from the Far North Region to areas with high agricultural potential in the North Region [33] (**Figure 2**). The two speculations are therefore cultivated by so-called "non-native" populations for whom access to land remains a challenge because of the socio-cultural barriers which limit their access to land ownership in settlements. Local populations have always lived their presence as a form of spoliation of their land [34]. In this context of precarious land, the average cultivated area per producer is small (1 ha), with however at least 50% of farms between ¼ and ¾ ha. This proportion is justified by the fact that soybeans are almost entirely cultivated by family farms (FF) which also ensure the production of foodstuffs intended primarily for self-consumption (millet/sorghum, corn, cowpeas, groundnuts). Thus, with an average yield of 1 tonne/ha, EFA production oscillates between 500 and 800 kg, or 5 to 8 bags of 100 kg. It is therefore essentially an atomised production on small areas exploited for an average duration of 5 years from the clearing. In some cases, soybeans are grown in rotation with corn one to two years to capitalise on residual effects of nitrogen. Despite this situation, which translates into a context of land insecurity for most producers, soybean monoculture farms are, nevertheless, developed on 5–15 ha, despite their low mechanisation. However, the overall increase in areas by clearing and deforestation will soon come up against the areas set aside for environmental protection (Bénoué and Bouba-Ndjidda national parks; Areas of Hunting

From a labour point of view, almost essentially manual production justifies the use of family labour force adapted to the crumbling context of plots on the one hand, and hired labour for farms greater than or equal to 2 ha on the other hand. According to technical soybean routes,

• Preparing fields (clearing and/or cutting down of trees for the creation of new plots,


The cessation of the crop diversification project as a consequence of the above difficulties will stimulate a new productive and market dynamic supported by Nigerian wholesalers whose prices on the domestic markets are twice higher than those offered by SODECOTON and Soyabeans Processing Industrial of Cameroon (SOPROICAM), a cooperative company engaged in the purchase and industrial processing of soybeans, to conquer the regional market. The sale of crops on domestic markets becomes a direct source of income for producers, in an environment marked by permanent cash flow tensions.

Thus, between 2011 and 2016, cotton ceased to be the head of rotation in crop rotations in favour of soybeans for 40% of producers interviewed. This proportion was 60% after 2017, with a strong trend towards the proliferation of monoculture farms by clearing new plots.

**Figure 2.** Evolution of soybean production in the cotton basin of Mayo-Rey (2008–2019).

<sup>11</sup> SODECOTON has for twenty years adopted the incentive policy for cotton production by providing credit inputs intended for the production of food crops to cotton producers only. This policy will simply be accentuated on soybeans as part of the crop diversification project.

#### **2.2 Towards a dynamics of extension of the production basin**

In the North Region, the main production basin of the entire Sudano-Sahelian region, the cultivated area increased from less than 6,000 ha in 2008 to 68,000 ha in 2019.<sup>12</sup> The activity brings together nearly 50,000 producers, at least 35% of whom have abandoned cotton growing in favour of soybeans. And owing to their status as crops which are almost entirely intended for the domestic and cross-border market, the two speculations compete as much in the use of space as in family and salaried agricultural labour.

From a spatial point of view, soybeans are indeed developing in the new cotton basin of the Mayo-Rey Division, opened within the framework of the "Programme of migration and agricultural support services" implemented by the State of Cameroon from 1974 to 1997. This programme made it possible to move and supervise the settlement of more than 200,000 migrants from the Far North Region to areas with high agricultural potential in the North Region [33] (**Figure 2**). The two speculations are therefore cultivated by so-called "non-native" populations for whom access to land remains a challenge because of the socio-cultural barriers which limit their access to land ownership in settlements. Local populations have always lived their presence as a form of spoliation of their land [34]. In this context of precarious land, the average cultivated area per producer is small (1 ha), with however at least 50% of farms between ¼ and ¾ ha. This proportion is justified by the fact that soybeans are almost entirely cultivated by family farms (FF) which also ensure the production of foodstuffs intended primarily for self-consumption (millet/sorghum, corn, cowpeas, groundnuts). Thus, with an average yield of 1 tonne/ha, EFA production oscillates between 500 and 800 kg, or 5 to 8 bags of 100 kg. It is therefore essentially an atomised production on small areas exploited for an average duration of 5 years from the clearing. In some cases, soybeans are grown in rotation with corn one to two years to capitalise on residual effects of nitrogen. Despite this situation, which translates into a context of land insecurity for most producers, soybean monoculture farms are, nevertheless, developed on 5–15 ha, despite their low mechanisation. However, the overall increase in areas by clearing and deforestation will soon come up against the areas set aside for environmental protection (Bénoué and Bouba-Ndjidda national parks; Areas of Hunting Interest which cover nearly 50% of the North Region).

From a labour point of view, almost essentially manual production justifies the use of family labour force adapted to the crumbling context of plots on the one hand, and hired labour for farms greater than or equal to 2 ha on the other hand. According to technical soybean routes, the labour force is called upon to perform several tasks (**Table 1**):


<sup>12</sup> Source: North Regional Delegation for Agriculture and Rural Development (2020).


**Table 1.** Distribution of tasks according to the soybean agricultural calendar. The spread of labour-intensive tasks over ten months in the year (March to December) has thus contributed to the development of a subsector of agricultural workers who have become essential in the productive dynamics, remuneration being paid by task. For agricultural workers, this is an immediate source of income that is beginning to structure a seasonal migratory flow to soybean production areas. In addition, the growing use of labour force, whether family or salaried, is increasingly a factor in the variation/reduction of areas devoted to other food crops (millet/sorghum, maize, cowpeas, peanuts, cotton) due to the overlapping of agricultural calendars which puts the execution of agricultural tasks in competition. Cotton is more demanding in terms of labour force, and conversely, does not provide immediate income, the producer being just as dependent on uncertain payment terms. Overall, this growing craze for soybean cultivation underpins the consolidation of the producers' strategic link in the construction of a value chain.

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Michael Porter (1986) who is the author of the value chain concept developed it in his reference book "Competitive Advantage". The value chain describes all the activities necessary to carry out a product or a service from its conception, through different phases of production to its distribution to final consumers, then to its destruction after use. It breaks down activity into sequences of elementary operations and identifies sources of potential competitive advantage. This breakdown improves the overall performance of the value chain by strength-

As production is only one of the stages in creating added value, knowing the dynamics of building soybean value chain involves breaking down all of the activities that structure it, all

Regional soybean production follows two marketing trajectories: contract buying and free selling on domestic markets. The first trajectory is supported by the Soybeans Processing Industry of Cameroon (SOPROICAM) which has set up a network of 20,000 farmers present in more than 2000 producer organisations. The contractual relationship is framed by two provisions guaranteeing the supply to producers of inputs (fertilisers and herbicides) at the start of the crop year and the obligation to deliver the crops to SOPROICAM at a price fixed in advance by the two parties. The kg fixed for the 2018–2019 agricultural campaign was CFAF 170 (or EUR 0.259), against CFAF 120–150 (EUR 0.182–0.228) on the domestic market. For this campaign, this company collected 6,000 tonnes of soybeans (60,000,100 kg bags) worth CFAF 1,020,000,000 (EUR 1,554,980). The unsatisfied purchase forecast for this campaign was 20,000 tonnes, which would have generated in the production segment alone a money supply in

The second trajectory is organised around a network of wholesalers who source from producers in rural markets. These wholesalers act as intermediaries for cross-border or domestic

**3.1 Tentative assessment of financial effects induced by the marketing of regional** 

**3. Dynamics of building a soybean value chain**

circulation in the region of CFAF 3.4 billion (EUR 5,183,270).

ening each link and links between links.

linked to each other.

**soybean production**

The spread of labour-intensive tasks over ten months in the year (March to December) has thus contributed to the development of a subsector of agricultural workers who have become essential in the productive dynamics, remuneration being paid by task. For agricultural workers, this is an immediate source of income that is beginning to structure a seasonal migratory flow to soybean production areas. In addition, the growing use of labour force, whether family or salaried, is increasingly a factor in the variation/reduction of areas devoted to other food crops (millet/sorghum, maize, cowpeas, peanuts, cotton) due to the overlapping of agricultural calendars which puts the execution of agricultural tasks in competition. Cotton is more demanding in terms of labour force, and conversely, does not provide immediate income, the producer being just as dependent on uncertain payment terms. Overall, this growing craze for soybean cultivation underpins the consolidation of the producers' strategic link in the construction of a value chain.
