L'agriculture urbaine et périurbaine à Youndé: analyse fonctionnelle d'une activité montante en économie de survie

Urban Farm DB summary

This study characterizes urban and peri-urban agriculture in Yaoundé, Cameroon, that has emerged amid rapid urbanization unaccompanied by economic growth, analyzing the interaction of actor types, space types, crops, products, and average incomes. The analysis found this agriculture employs close to 2,000 people, mostly young people and especially women with an average age of 35, concentrated on land under heavy pressure — marshy lowlands, foot of slopes, and roadsides. Crops were mainly vegetables, food staples, and flowers, varying across the urban ring, peri-urban zone, and rural hinterland. Marketing occurred through long, short, and direct circuits, with prices set by demand rather than fixed in advance. Profitability analysis of celery, ndolé, and black nightshade accounts found an average daily gain of about three euros per producer, and some market gardeners reported preferring to stay in their gardens rather than take a roughly 75-euro/month wage job; the study also found no legal or regulatory framework governing the activity, and no law authorizing it.