**4. What prospects for the sustainability of the soybean value chain in the Sudano-Sahelian zone in Cameroon?**

The growing statistics on soybean production are likely to obscure the constraints which constitute potential vectors of weakening the productive dynamics noted above. Indeed, the diagnosis of the organisation and functioning of production as a strategic link in the value chain highlights three major constraints relating to the structuring of producers, the provision of agricultural services and the functioning of market.

With regard to the first constraint, the collaboration model implemented by SOPROICAM tends to polarise all producers towards the creation of structured and legalised groups. Despite the current proliferation of independent wholesalers, consolidating the distribution link means moving towards the establishment of true merchant cooperatives. This future trend implies for producers to build real organisations whose legal existence constitutes a foundation of credibility vis-à-vis other actors in the value chain. However, the low proportion of registration by the competent administration of existing structured groups with a view to obtaining the status of cooperatives results in difficulties in opening accounts in financial and banking establishments due to the lack of a reliable guarantee; refusal to pay membership fees by members; leadership struggles and internal confidence crises.

From the point of view of the provision of agricultural services, the support of distribution players to producers constitutes a dusting which, far from boosting production, keeps farmers in a spiral of dependence on buyers. Several farmers denounce the low level of inputs supplied by SOPROICAM (less than 40–50% of the needs expressed) in exchange for the exclusive purchase of the crops. The fixing of the purchase price at the start of the crop year thus reinforces this dependence of farmers on the company. This context therefore contributes to the establishment of an unsustainable debt cycle in the medium and long term by farmers, many of whom opt for direct sales on domestic markets.

This second constraint is also marked by the absence of a seed sector to sustainably increase yield. With an average yield of 1 tonne/ha, soybean productivity does not bode well for the prospects of sustainable growth, thus justifying the intensification of land clearing and deforestation to expand the cultivated areas, despite the virtual absence of mechanisation of production and technical supervision by State services.

As a corollary to the above, the regional soybean market is characterised by inter-annual price instabilities that are highly detrimental to farmers in terms of making production forecasts due to market uncertainty. In 2012 for example, the kg of soybeans cost CFAF 220 (EUR 0.335) against CFAF 120–150 (EUR 0.182–0.228) between 2017 and 2019. The strong presence on the domestic markets of Nigerian wholesalers frequently subject to variations in the cost of Naïra (devaluation) is a factor which reinforces market uncertainties.

Ultimately, beyond the institutional will displayed to support the soybean sector by the launch in 2014 of a dedicated agropolis in the Far North Region, it is difficult to see concrete actions on the ground, strengths of the State for the benefit of key players.
