CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to study

The international development community has recognised that agriculture remain an engine of economic development and poverty reduction in many developing countries. Agriculture has been the main form of economic activity in rural and national economies of many African countries. It constitute the production of both export crops which were grown and dominated by men farmers and food crops which were grown by women farmers especially food crops such as cassava. Thereby, setting gender roles.

The significance of women farmers’ entry into the workforce over the past decades has produced a profound transformation in the organisation of families, society, and the economy. From the late 1950s, women farmers’ economic activities have been steadily increasing, with women farmers participating actively in their local economies.

The major agricultural produce produced by the women farmers were the tuber crops like cassava. Tuber crops such as cassava were processed by the women farmers into semi-finished and finished products such as garri. The production of garri made women farmers to be more responsible for a variety of tasks, such as, providing labour to families commercial plots, producing household food and covering a wide range of household and community needs, including health and child care.

The economic role of women farmers in the production of household and community needs in historical literature have received attention in Sub-Saharan African countries even though the programs developed were far from addressing the needs of the women. As they were neither involved in policy making nor were they directly consulted in order to articulate their needs. The researcher discovered some historical information which unraveled the fact that, the production of agricultural products for household welfare and commercialization has employed a significant proportion of landless workers and small farm holders, of which are women and generates over thirty two percent of GDP growth in West African countries. The agricultural sector has possessed strong potential in development, growth, welfare and employment creation as the researcher examined.

The agricultural sector in Cameroon in the 1980s has continued to play a veritable role in the economy as it employed over seventy percent of the population from the data analysed by the researcher. The researcher has targeted the role of the rural women farmers in food security, food production and processing, surplus production for commercialisation, marketing and other economic activities which were hitherto performed by the men farmers. As a significant proportion of agricultural and other socio-economic activities takes place in rural areas and the women farmers forming the majority of the commercial sector at micro-levels.

The rural women farmers in addition to their domestic and reproductive responsibilities produce over sixty to eighty percent of the agricultural food products which are widely consumed in Cameroon as the researcher noticed from historical literatures. From historical data, the researcher has examined the contributions put in place by the rural women farmers to the socio-economic and political development of the rural and national economies of the country as compared to their male counterparts.

In the South West Region of Cameroon, where traditional mode of agricultural production and commercialisation for household and community needs co-exist with state run farms, the rural women farmers also engaged in the formation of groups and cooperatives organisations. The formation of these organisations as it was argued by social scientists and gender experts was to balance the inadequate representation in existing rural organisations and improvement of agricultural production and independence in the rural communities.

The agricultural sector was one of the key fields of economic activities in the Bakunduland. The women farmers constitute over sixty percent of the active population as compared to the men farmers and grow about eighty percent of food products at subsistence and commercial levels. The agricultural activities of the rural women even go beyond food crop production to other economic activities like fisheries and hunting. This enabled the women farmers to convey or participate much to the Self-Help Schemes of the rural and national developmental programs in spite of their limited access to productive resources. The rural communities of the Bakunduland have women farmers, who depend mostly on the production and transformation of food products such as cassava for garri in order to provide for households, communities and dealers.

The rural communities which constitute the Bakunduland possess synonymous idiosyncrasies which could be fitted in every aspect of the communities. Such idiosyncrasies can be spotted in agricultural activities, language, tradition, dressing, diet, and structure of authorities even though they have distinct aspects among the various communities. The Bakunduland existed in two sections as lower and upper, and some of the communities include, Bombe, Bopo, Banga, Pete, Kake Bongwana, Kake Bokoko, Marumba Bongwana, Marumba Boah, Kombone, Boa, Nake Bongwana, Nake Bokoko, Foe, Bole, Ngongo, and Mabonji Bakundu.

The impacts of the women farmers in the Bombe Bakundu community were visible in all aspects of the socio-economic and political status of the rural and national territory. The researcher therefore centered the research on the Garri Women of Bombe Bakundu, Cameroon, 1960-2015. The garri women have over time and space take on the responsibilities which were hitherto carried out by the men. They have been responsible for “putting the bread on the table” and thus, reversing gender roles while given the problem impetus.

Statement of the Problem

It has been widely demonstrated that garri women farmers as well as men farmer engaged in a wide range of socio-economic and political activities essential to household welfare and management, agricultural productivity, economic development and growth of rural and national economies. But there exist misconceptions and controversies in the evaluation of the relevance of the garri women as their substantial contributions and impact continue to be undervalued and plagued by limited attention in conventional agricultural and economic analyses.

While the men’s contributions and impact remains at the centre, often the sole focus of attention. Certain questions patterning to what and how garri women activities have been beneficial in all sectors of the society have remained unanswered and controversial. This has unveiled a gap in historical knowledge.

This therefore prompted the researcher to venture into that area in order to bring out answers and information not taken into considerations to justify the worth and clear the misconceptions of garri women’s impact in societal development and growth. As the garri women’s impact in the socio-economic and political sectors has not been thoroughly investigated. The garri women are the hidden force behind the economic development and growth of the rural and national economies. They partake in combating poverty, malnutrition, and food insecurity.

In spite of the lack of appreciation and consideration of their activities to be just a “help” and not an important contribution to social welfare, economic development and growth of rural and national economies. The research brings out the hidden potentials of the garri women farmers of Bombe Bakundu as their objectives to the socio-economic and political development of rural and national economies.

Objectives of the Study

Main Objective

The general objective of the study hopes to give an historical appraisal of the garri women of Bombe Bakundu, Cameron, 1960-2015.

Specific Objectives

1. To examine the geography and economic history of Bombe Bakundu. As a prelude to the changing roles of the garri women in ensuring better living standards in household s welfare, economic development and growth of the rural and national economies.
2. To examine why garri women tend to specialise in this specific activity in Bombe Bakundu.
3. To examine the role of the garri women at economic development and growth in Bombe Bakundu. And equally within the context of the rural and national economy.
4. To strengthen and promote self-reliance of the garri women in improving on the production and productivity of garri and other food products in a sustainable manner and ensuring food security , while also ensuring that risks to the ecosystem are minimised.

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