RURAL WOMEN IN AGRICULTURAL FOOD CROP
PRODUCTION IN BOMBE BAKUNDU, CAMEROON, 1982-2016: AN HISTORICAL APPRAISAL
JENKINS DIOMO BETOMBO
+237671466329
UNIVERSITY OF BUEA, FACULTY OF ARTS,
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Introduction
The
United Nation economic assessment report on Africa recognised that agriculture
is an engine of economic development, growth and poverty reduction in many
developing countries. Agriculture has been the main form of economic activity
in rural and national economies of African countries. It constitute the production
of export( cash) crops which were grown and dominated by the men farmers and
food crops which were grown and dominated by the women farmers, especially
stable and staple food crop s like cassava and vegetables. The economic role of
women farmers in the production of food crops have received attention in
Sub-Saharan Africa even though the programs developed were far from addressing
the main needs of the women farmers as they were neither involved in
policy making nor were they directly
consulted in order to articulate their needs.
Agricultural
food crop production employed a significant proportion of landless worker and
small holder farmers, of which were women and generated over 32 percent of GDP
growth in West African countries. The sector has a great and strong potential
in growth, employment creation, and poverty reduction. In the 1980s, food crop
production in Cameroon played a veritable role in the economy as it employed
over 78 percent of the population. Rural women farmers were deeply involved in
the cultivation and production of food crops as a significant proportion of the
agricultural activities took place at rural areas. Rural women farmers in
addition to their domestic and reproductive responsibilities produced over 60
to 80 percent of the agricultural food crops which were widely consumed in
Cameroon and have significantly contributed to the socio-economic development
of rural and national economies of the country.
In
the south west region where traditional modes of production co-exist with state
run farms, the rural women farmers were more responsible for a variety of
tasks, such as providing labour to families’ commercial plots, producing
household food and covering a range of household and community needs including
health and child care. Their activities also stressed on food processing,
surplus production for commercialisation and marketing. Rural women groups and
co-operatives were set up to balance the inadequate representation in existing
rural organisation and improve on the production of agricultural food products.
The
production of food products have been the viewed by rural men farmers as the
responsibility of the rural women to ensure economic development and growth in
the household and community. Such notions in the Meme Division have placed the
rural women farmers at a strategic position of external dependence. With gender
imposed recognition, rural women farmers have exposed their abilities,
capabilities and initiatives of been at the helm to kombat rural poverty, food
insecurity and malnutrition, while enhancing the development of the rural and
urban communities. The worth of rural women’s contributions to social and
economic development and growth has been very much consumed and recognised at
the communities of the Mbonge Sub- Division. From historical data, rural women
farmers have taken up the mantle of been bread
winners of their families and strived for the prosperity of their
communities.
In this platform, rural women have exceeded
expectations as they strived to reverse gender roles and provide an economic
and social framework of recognisance in analysis. In Bombe Bakundu, rural women
mostly depended on the production of food crops which was and is one of the key
areas or sectors of the traditional economy. They constitute over 60 percent of
the active population and grow about 80 percent of the food products at
subsistence and commercial levels. The rural women farmers played a vital role
in food production, food security and form the majority at the commercial
sector at micro-levels. The agricultural activities of the rural women farmers
even go beyond food crop production to other economic agricultural activities
like fisheries. This has enabled the rural women farmers to contribute much
more to Self-Help Schemes of rural development al programs in the rural
community, in spite of their limited access to productive resources. However, the production of food products had
been the effective responsibility of the women especially at the rural
communities of the Bakunduland and Bombe Bakundu inparticular.
The
production of food products within local communities had always been a priority
and necessity to rural and urban livelihoods in Cameroon. This had made rural
communities to be held in high esteem based on their services and aptly
capabilities to feed the national population and kombat food insecurity,
malnutrition and poverty. At the center
of agricultural production in rural communities were the women farmers despite
the phenomenon upheld ‘that everybody is a farmer in Cameroon’. The chapter
focused on rural women farmers and the different farming systems used in the
production of food crops in a commercial scale and the different farming
operations involved in the production of agricultural food cop production and
marketing of the products produced. The segment of interest also diagnosed the
innovations and mechanisms of rural women farmers in reforming and remunerating
the sector to conform the transitions and evolution of the society over the
decades.
The
agricultural products of the rural women had unveiled their true nature as
producers, caretakers, peacemakers, and nurturers. The overwhelming potentials of the rural
women farmers in the Bombe Bakundu placed them at the peak as economic and
social stakeholders. They have reversed gender role in the manner in which
correspond and respond to political, social and economic happenings. It is on
this note; the economic activities of the rural women farmers in food
production would be examined and analysed to evaluate the extent of their
impact on the rural community of Bombe Bakundu. The Bombe Bakundu community had
witnessed and graced the rural women farmers commercial scale food crop production
The Role of Rural
Women in Commercial Scale Food Crop Production in Bombe Bakundu
Rural
women farmers have been involved in agricultural food crop production from the
pre-colonial to the post independent era in Bombe Bakundu. During the
pre-colonial traditional period, rural women cultivated food crops in small
scales mainly for subsistence and trade. The last decades of the colonial era
witnessed additional responsibilities which cajoled the rural women to produce
export products for the Western economy while the transitions were recorded at
the post independent era which saw the rural women concern in uplifting and
improving the development and living standards of the households, rural and
national economy. The quest to foster the development and healthy living in the
rural and urban communities gingered the rural women farmers to cultivate and
produce food crops in large quantities for commercial and subsistence purposes.
The
cultivation and production of food crops in a commercial scale by the rural
women farmers of Bombe Bakundu began in 1982. This was due to increase in
demand for agricultural food crops by the dealers and traders. These traders
came from towns such as Kumba, Limbe, Tiko and Douala. The increase in demand
for food crops was due to an increase in the population and demand for food
products in their areas. This increase in demand nurtured the desire of the
rural women farmers to expand their spheres of influence in order to enhance
massive cultivation and production of food products. This development made the
rural women farmers to demand for farmlands. The quest to acquire large
farmlands made the rural women to resort to the purchasing of large extensive
lands from land owners and lords.
Between
1982- 2012, rural women farmers had purchased and were in possession of over 45
percent of the total hectares of land in Bombe Bakundu. This was encouraged by
Eyambe Nee’ Achu Margrette, the Mbonge Sub Divisional Delegate for women
Affairs at the 2011, International Day of the Rural Women celebration in Bombe
Bakundu.
Rural
women farmers should claim their rights to land ownership and inheritance. For
they did not choose to be females and so, should not remain land beggars. Their
husbands should not get angry if they acquired pieces of land to cultivate
their crops. It is for the good of the entire family and country.
By
1982, rural women farmers in Bombe Bakundu started cultivating food crops in a
commercial scale.
The
cultivation and production of food crops required huge work force. This work
force was provided by the rural women farmers who constituted over 60 percent
as some rural women farmers even took part in wage paid jobs in order to cover
the expenses and growing cost of living. (This was typical in female headed
homes). The rural women farmers also formed co-operate labour groups in which
they performed a rotational co-operate labour. They moved and worked in all the
different farmlands of the rural women farmers (members only) depending on the
set table. This form of labour donation which equally existed in the
pre-colonial and colonial era in Bombe Bakundu manifested especially during the
periods marking the weeding farming exercise. However, much labour was also
provided at the weeding and harvesting era by the members of the family and
extended family relations. The rural women also exposed their children to the
cultivation and production of agricultural products.
This
served as a means of training their children especially the females on the
techniques of food production in order to avoid over dependence of their female
children to their husband s in the nearest future. The rural women also hired
labour services. This was determined by the capital and bargaining power of the
women farmers. In periods when the rural women bargaining powers were weak
because of inadequate capital, they made use of manufacture product such as
‘finish’ for spaying grasses which disrupted the growth of food crops. Rural
women farmers cultivated different kinds and types of food crops at different
site of their farmlands.
The
rooted crops such as cassava, yams, and cocoyams were grown o large hectares of
lands at hill tops with gentile gradients. This was done because; those rooted
crops could withstand long absence of rain fall, coupled with the fertile nature
of the soil and the favourable conditions necessary for the cultivation of the
crops. Other food crops like the perishables such vegetables were cultivated on
the marshy and valley areas as their survival depended on the water. The
cultivation and production of these food crops on vast extensive farmlands had
increased the quantity of the food crops produced. From 1982-2012, the quantity
of the food crops produced in Bombe Bakundu was measured in tons. This was
enhanced and ensured by the innovations and mechanisms initiated and
implemented by the rural women farmers in Bombe Bakundu community on the basis
of improving the skills and ensure high yields in food production.
Rural Women
Innovations in Food Crop Production in Bombe Bakundu
Rural
women farmers in Bombe Bakundu had trusted and developed traditional knowledge
in the production of food crops in a commercial scale for the rural and
national economies. They had built on it to enhance productivity and
sustainability by selectively and carefully re-introducing both traditional and
modern practice in the natural farming systems of agricultural food crop
production. Natural or traditional farming systems of agricultural food
crops which did not made use of scientific
manufactured products like chemicals had been initiated and enforced by the
rural women farmers as they believed that traditional farming even though
informed by modern science fed the rural and national populations.
The
experienced women farmers of over forty years of experience in the sector of
food crop production had exposed the natural farming practices which was
grounded by traditional farming practices had offered satisfactory solutions to
food insecurity, malnutrition and health setbacks for better diet. Many rural
women farmers in Bombe Bakundu had also modified and introduced new farming
methods of producing food crops. These new procedures consisted of the
formation of long ground ridges. These long ground ridges with girth of about
four centimeter width and six centime length, ensured the steady supply of
decomposed dead plants and animals as nutrients to the food plants and
preventing the withering of the crops. This was coupled with the application of
kitchen waste such as wood ash and pedestrian defecations as manure to the crops.
This improved on the quality and quantity of the food crops produced. As the
rural women farmers justified the essence that organic waste products increased
the moisture capacity holding of the soil and the yields in a commercial scale.
The
production of food crops in a commercial scale had equally been made efficient
by the rural women farmers who even deployed renovated means to ensure
production in sustainable manner. Such means and procedure constituted the
nursing of seed food crops fro better management and experimentation. These
food crops were nursed at the back yards of the women farmers’ residence in
garden. When the crop plants showed and exposed properties of maturity and
growth, they were transferred them to the farmlands where they were planted.
This act ensured high yields in food production as the women farmers developed
mechanisms on producing high yields seedlings and cuttings of food crops like
yams, maize and cassava.
The
production of these high yield food crops in a commercial scale was also
enhanced by the rural women farmers in Bombe Bakundu as they encourage family
farming. This encouragement enforced the cultivation of food and export crops
like cassava and cocoa since as most rural women were also involved in cash
crop production. The development established a platform of intensive
co-operation between the men and women farmers in order to improve on the
production of both food and cash crops. This co-operation to enhance food crop
production made many rural women farmers to develop extension service links
with extension workers and traders through the mobile technology. This favoured
the circulation of relevant information in food crop production, as many women
farmers got held of various ideas necessary for the sustainable production,
management of natural resources and marketability. However, the massive
development in the social mindset of the women farmers unveiled their
potentials to feed the rural and national economies. In conforming to the
innovation of women farmers, the office of the United Nation Women commented;
Africa
has the potential to feed its self but we cannot eat potentials, we must take
every opportunity to advance and improve our agricultural productivity using
the new wave of innovation and technology in Africa at the center of which are
women and youths
These
innovations and development were exposed by the experienced rural women famers
at women’s gatherings such as the international day of the rural women and
women meetings. These innovations and mechanisms were applied on different
farming methods used by the rural women farmers at diverse sites and
situations.
Rural Women
Farming Methods in Food Crop Production
The
traditional farming systems practised by the rural women farmers in the
cultivation and production of agricultural food crops were those of irrigation,
shifting cultivation, crop rotation and mixed crop farming. These farming modes
were influenced by the physical properties of the farming season such as the
dryness and the precipitation. Rural women farmers used these farming seasonal
methods to cultivate both traditional and European introduced food products in
a commercial scale in Bombe Bakundu during the past decades. These food
products included; plantains, groundnuts, bush pepper, vegetables, bitter
leaves, cassava, cocoyams, yams, sweet potatoes, and vegetables such as cabbage
and green.
Rural
women farmers in Bombe Bakundu were in possession of farmlands at the banks of
the Mungo River, streams, and marshy areas and cultivated their crops using
irrigation farming system. This type of farming mode made use of water to
nourish and ensured the sustainability of the crops planted on the farmlands.
The women farmers used the water on their crops especially at the heart of the
dry season when rainfall was inadequate to sustain the food crops. The food
crops grown in these areas were cultivated on grown beds and ridges. These
products were mostly vegetables and tomatoes. The women farmers used shifting
cultivation to divert interest and cultivate their food crops on the farmlands.
In
the 1980s, rural women farmers practised mainly shifting cultivation in the
cultivation and production of agricultural food products. They cleared their
farmlands and planted food crops like cassava, yams, plantains, maize,
groundnuts and melon. After a year’s cropping, or possibly after two, these
farmlands were abandoned by the women farmers while new farmlands that were
purchased or hired were prepared. This was to enable the worked soil regain its
nutrients and to taste the fertility of other areas. The cultivation of food
crops on more than a piece of land made the rural women farmers in Bombe
Bakundu to venture into the forest (reserved areas) to cultivate their crops.
The
cultivation and production of food crops in Bombe Bakundu was also centered on
the crop rotation farming system. Rural women farmers cultivated different
varieties of food crops on a particular field in each farming season. This was
to keep the soil fertile and produce healthy food crops. Some of the healthy
food crops were tomatoes, bush pepper, okra, vegetables and black beans which
were cultivated on the wetlands (lambas).
The women farmers rotated the cultivation of these products throughout the
farming seasons. This maintained the
balance in the quantity of food crops produced from the farmlands of the rural
women farmers each farming season.
Rural
women farmers produced food crops with the used of the mixed crop system or
method. This method was used to cultivate food crops like ground nut, cocoyam,
cassava, and vegetable. In doing this, the women farmers formed ground beds and
ridges, where these crops were planted. More than a crop was cultivated on the
field at the same time in all the farming seasons. The main aim was to boast
the production of food crop. The farming activities involved in the process of
food crop production in Bombe Bakundu were deeply performed by the rural women
farmers in all the farming stages.
Rural Women
Farming Operations in Food Crop Production
The
women farmers in Bombe Bakundu cultivated and produced food crops in large
scale using diverse farming systems at different seasons. During the farming
seasons, there was strict respect of time, observation and continuity in the
processes of food crop activities which ranged from clearing of the farmlands
to harvesting of the food crops. These findings were similar to that of Esther
Boserup who stated that;
Nearly
all the task connected with food crop production is performed by African rural
women with the exception of tree felling and other heavy duties.
These farming activities had been shared by the
women farmers in respect to the dry and wet farming seasons. This was due to
the manner in which they performed the various forming activities.
The dry season began the activities of the rural
women farmers in the cultivation and production of food crops in Bombe Bakundu.
Rural women farmers cleared their farmlands and prepared them for tilling and
planting. The type of clearing was influenced by the type of crops that was
planted by the women farmers. For example, plantains do not demand clearing
that touches the ground but only the exact spot where the plantain suckers was
to be planted. Whereas for crops like Maize, groundnuts and cassava, there
clearing manner extended down and low that it touches the ground. This was
necessary because, tilling would be easily done by the women farmers. These
women farmers used rudimentary equipments like cutlasses and curved sticks (Ngorhboh) to bring down strong grasses
(like elephant grass). The farmlands were cleared to enable the free
circulation and direct penetration of sunlight and rainfall, which were very
essential ingredients in the cultivation and production of food crops.
After the women farmers must have cleared their
farmlands, the cleared grasses were gathered and burnt to ashes (a process
known as sweeping to the women farmers). This enabled the rural women farmers
to tap and till the sol for manure particles pending the period of
precipitation to plant their food crops. The soil was tilled in the form of
mounds and ridges with farm working tools, such as, hoes and shovels. This was
done by the women farmers in order for the food crops to get sustainable degree
of manure which can last for long through out the seasonal periods.
At the early periods of precipitation, that is
around the mid of April to the ending of May, the planting session commenced.
This was because; there were many crops that were to be planted on single
ridges or on several mounds at subsequent intervals. For example, the rural
women farmers used hoes and shovels to bore holes for yam seeds right next to
mounds for melon (which grow rapidly and cover a vast portion of the farmlands)
but ended up planting melon before the yam seeds to prevent harvest
complications since, some food crops grew faster than others. Some of the food
crops such as groundnuts and maize were planted with seeds on small mounds,
while in other areas; rural women farmers used cuttings and stems of foods
crops to cultivate the food crops like cassava and vegetables such as green.
The germination of the planted crops during the wet
seasons marked another physical exercise as the women farmers tend to do
weeding. At this period, the food crops were still weak and this had made the
women farmers to weed with care, so as to avoid destroying the shoots of the
crops in the course of weeding. The rural women farmers used their hoes, hands
and fertilisers such as finish to
spray grasses. There was continues weeding of the grasses that might had grown
with the food crops. This act prevented the battle of nutrients between the
food crops and the undesired grasses (especially the elephant grasses and cover
crops).
The food
crops were observed and monitored by the women farmers who responded bid by bid
to the transitions of the crop’s nature until they became matured, ready to be
harvested. The harvesting of the food crops to their maturity states differ
amongst the several food crops for example, food crops like maize, groundnuts,
bush pepper, bush mango, and vegetables take three months before they were
harvested, while crops like cassava and yams took about twelve and nine months
respectively. The rural women farmers used their craft baskets, hoes, cutlasses
and bags to harvest the food crops at subsequent intervals. Rural women farmers
harvested over 400 kilograms of food crops every farming season.
When these food crops had been harvested, they
transported with Machines (moto bikes) to the storage facilities established by
the women farmers. This transportation was done by hired machines and the women
farmers who used their craft baskets tied with belts around their waist and
head. The food products were stored in facilities known as barns (called Orbar by the Ibo women farmers). These
barns were constructed with bamboos. The storage facilities provided an
environment for the women farmers to select from their products those for
commercialisation and subsistence. Huge quantities of these food products were
taken to the market for commercialisation or sale with few left for household
consumption.
A Summarised Assessment on Rural Women and the
Preservation of Food Products in Bombe Bakundu
The agricultural food produced products served ‘two
masters’ at the same time which were mainly; food and income. The rural women
devised strategies to handle continue preservation and preparation of food in
order to conform to the well being and diet stratification. When food crops
were harvested, the rural women adopted a selective medium where food products
were divided. A chunk of food crops were dished out for commercialisation with
the remains preserved for household and local consumption.
Rural Women and
the Preparation of Food Products in Bombe Bakundu
There were several means and mechanisms through
which the rural women in Bombe Bakundu utilised to brandish the worth and
relevance of the different food products produced. The diverse agricultural
food crops have been exposed by the many rural women of also relying on diverse
modes and mediums of preparation for consumption. Many rural households in
Bombe Bakundu set forth phrases of testing the different taste of food prepared
by the women. The rural women had justified the motives in production of
agricultural food products which was mainly to uplift the welfare and diet of
their children in particular and households and community in general.
A Brief Spectrum on Rural Women and the
Marketing of Food Crops in Bombe Bakundu
The traditional markets in the Mbonge Sub Division
Municipalities were located at the center of the municipalities. The trade
inter practised by the women farmers were inter-village trade. The
intra-village trade carried out within the community of Bombe Bakundu. The
local marketing of women’s products in the local markets was well fashioned and
organised. The rural women farmers
also trade with neighbouring villages such as Banga Bakundu, Mbalangi Ekombe,
Ediki and Mabonji, which characterised the inter-village trade. These women
farmers traveled for long distances to exchange their local farm products for
other needs. The prices in these foreign markets were mostly determined by the
‘buyers’ and the nature of their markets. When these food crops were said
despite the price fluctuation, the women farmers used the finance to pay the
land owners’ for the next farming season. However
the contributions of rural women in agricultural food crop production would
also be looked upon in relation to the actions, intentions and ambitions to
enhance, household welfare, community development and growth. This impact
ranged from income generation to infrastructural development.
Rural Women in
Food Crop Production and Income Generation
The production of food crops has been the major
source of finance to the rural women farmers and other inhabitants of the Bombe
Bakundu. This sector constitutes a major source of finance because the soils
and the climatic conditions of Bombe Bakundu favoured the cultivation of
different species of food crops in large scale or quantities. As a major source
of finance, many rural women farmers had gained financial independence
especially the female headed homes, and even most children (including student
and school drop pouts), who render their services to the women farmers.
This sector of food crop production had made most
rural women farmers to be able to generate income for their day to day
activities r function and bossiness ventures. While others have been able to
educate themselves (adult evening school) ,and send their children to school.
The objective had been motivated by Itoe Elizabeth, President of the rural
Women Association of Bombe Bakundu who voiced out that;
‘The
educated rural women will be a better citizen, farmer, mother and house wife
and so, rural women should educate themselves and their girls’.
Some rural women farmers have also been able to
build modern houses from the sales of their food products. The involvement and
production of food crops in Bombe Bakundu brandished commercial ideologies
through which the rural women farmers saw it as an opportunity to evade the
conundrum of their status. Food crop production also kept school drop outs
economically strong as they rendered their hired services to the rural women
farmers. This in effect, provided the framework within which many people (men,
women and children) remained busy and such, reduced the chances of crime waves
and insurgency in the local community.
The services provided by the employed workers
included transportation and cultivation in large extensive women farmlands.
Rural women production of food crops had therefore been an important aspect in
the economic development and growth of the rural economy and household in Bombe
Bakundu. This was because; the rural women and other inhabitants very much
depended on the production of food for their livelihoods. The relevance of this
sector made the rural women and other inhabitants to be self employed and less
dependence. The actions of the rural women farmers were equally visible in
quest to ensure modern infrastructural developments.
Rural Women in
Food Production and Infrastructural Developments
The production of food crops by rural women farmers
has also contributed to infrastructural development in Bombe Bakundu. The women
farmers’ production of food crops in huge quantities attracted costumers and
investors from different corners of the Cameroon Republic to the community. The
market in the community witnessed great improvement in terms of modern
infrastructure. The market boasted of modern building which replaced the old
fractured traditional format building with local materials. The modern building
provided adequate security to articles of traders in the arena.
Even the women traders from Douala, Kumba and Limbe
to purchase food crops and other items in Bombe Bakundu had assurance because
vast fractions of the market had been devoted to the sale of food products.
Rural women farmers sold their local farmed products to the women and men
traders form the outside in different quantities. After buying, the market
women traders from foreign destination usually rented stores in the Market to
preserve their purchased produced products a waiting transportation by heavy
duty trucks. In this dimension, the rural women farmers also ensured the
development of the community in the construction of community owned
infrastructures.
The proceeds made by the rural women farmers in the
production of food crops had been used in the construction of multipurpose
hall. This infrastructural development of halls had been of great essence to
the Bombe Bakundu community as it was used by the different ethnic groups to
perform their traditional values on weekly days. During such display, the halls
were equipped with locally made chairs and other important items like drums and
juju dresses which were used to perform the different traditions of the diverse
ethnic groups in the community.
Rural Women in
Food Production and Road Construction
The development of roads was one of the areas in
which the production of food crops by the rural women farmers was felt. Farm to
market roads which linked different farmlands in Bombe Bakundu had been
improved upon by the rural women farmers to enable the free passage and
transportation of agricultural products to residential areas and markets are it
at bush, local or urban markets. However, the improvement of the farm to market
roads was one of the series of developmental projects enacted by the rural
women farmers. These rural women farmers used rudimentary equipments like
cutlasses and cleared all the foot and truck paths linking the farmlands to the
community. They even went as far as getting involved in engine saw operation
works to bring down trees which perturb easy movements. Through such action in
a communal setting placed the rural women farmers at the peak of ensuring the welfare
and development of the rural community.
It should also be pointed out that the roads linking
Bombe Bakundu to other neighbouring villages and business centers had been
developed by the women farmers. This was aimed at enhancing easy access of
business persons and traders in particular to purchase food items and tools in
the community which they intended to export to other areas like Guinea
Equatorial, Nigeria and Gabon. This action nursed the development and growth of
Common Imitative Groups aimed at cajoling the economic and social interest of
the rural women farmers.
Rural Women in
Food Crop Production and the Realisation of Common Initiative Groups in Bombe
Bakundu
The lucrative nature of the Bombe Bakundu and the
activity of food crop production made the rural women farmers to device new
mechanisms to improve on the production of agricultural products. This
encouraged the women farmers to come together and form common initiative groups
like IMOH, HUMBLE LADIES, YOUNG MOTHERS,
and BONAYA farming groups. These
groups assisted the rural farmers in providing them with improved seedlings and
even finance. This also made the women farmers of Bombe Bakundu to highly
contribute to the developmental projects at micro-levels such as the installation
of pipe born water.
This sector in effect raised the shoulders of the
women farmers of Bombe Bakundu community as the number one producers of food
crops in Mbonge Sub-Division in particular and south west region in general.
According to Mr. Dan Happy; president of the Buea road farmers co-operative, “food
is the first medication”. The contributions of the women farmers to community
development received wide recognition as it made it possible for the women
farmers to intensify their strategies for the production of food crops.
The rural women farmers had also benefited from The CERAC WOMEN ORGANISATON headed by Mrs
Chantal Biya; the Cameroon Republic first lady. This circle of friends’
organisation donated farm inputs and equipments such as cutlasses, wheel
barrow, fertilisers, and oil processing machine (red oil in particular) to the
rural women farmers. This was to boast the production of farm crops for the
social and economic development of the rural and national economy.
Conclusion
The role and contributions of rural women in Bombe
Bakundu has been of great impact to the inhabitants of the rural and urban
communities. The communities have come
to testify and recognised the tremendous importance of the women(female sex) in
ensuring sustainable development, social cohesion as essential elements of
national integration and unity. Household welfare and community development
have transcended over the decades to be the shouldered by the women known to be
the true reflection of the aspirations of the creator. The rural women of Bombe
Bakundu have engaged in all forms of economic and social activities worthy of upgrading
the living standard and reduce the cost of living in the rural community.
However, the rural women have and are playing their parts, what of the men in
the rural and urban commu
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