A Song of Progress with a Richer Timbre

Women are increasingly indispensable partners in development strategies, and nowhere is this more evident than in Cameroon, where women working in forests are frontline fighters against rural poverty

Fruits, nuts, leaves, bark, medicinal plants and bamboo are just some of the life-giving items known as non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) began studying NTFPs and poverty alleviation in Africa 10 years ago.

In Cameroon, economic factors have driven more people into the NTFP sector. Prices of cocoa and coffee dropped in the 1990s, followed by an economic crisis and the devaluation of the local currency. Rural people began looking for new sources of income. At the same time, the value of NTFPs increased, as Africans overseas were willing to pay more for African products and the improved tourism industry brought increased demand for handicrafts.

Women in Cameroon are the driving force in producing, processing and commercializing NTFPs, says CIFOR researcher Danielle Lema Ngono. "They are the ones gathering the products in the forest and selling them in the markets. We did a study of 11 markets in the rainforest region of Cameroon, which showed that women make up 94 percent of the total number of traders."

Another CIFOR study showed women representing 80 percent of bushmeat traders in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 95 percent of traders of shea butter in Burkina Faso. The women manage these resources using sustainable and efficient production and collection techniques. And, thanks to the incomes from their trade, they are managing to succeed in other business areas as well.

In Cameroon's Lekie region, CIFOR works with the Association for Development of Environment Initiatives, a local nongovernmental organization that aims to help women use NTFPs as a source of income by training them to better cultivate and market them. One product in particular that CIFOR is helping women with is eru, a leaf used widely in Central African cuisine and sometimes as medicine.

According to CIFOR researcher Abdon Awono, the project's aim is to "help the women increase the supply of eru while also helping them better understand how the eru market works, what the local prices are and how to sell orders in advance."

The incomes achieved by women trading NTFPs are certainly impressive. According to CIFOR researcher Ousseynou Ndoye, women in Cameroon can earn between US$16 and $160 per week, depending on the product. Promising results are also emerging beyond Cameroon. "Women traders of charcoal and palm wine in the Democratic Republic of Congo earn $216 and $166 respectively per month," Dr. Ndoye observes. "This is a good income when you consider a secondary teacher earns between $120 and $150."

Such incomes are a good reason for governments to support the processing of NTFPs. CIFOR recommends that governments include these products in poverty reduction strategies. Other recommendations include reducing transaction costs, improving road and market infrastructures, and stimulating trade with neighboring countries by harmonizing trade policies. Such steps would go a long way toward helping the women of Central Africa overcome poverty.