The Case for Using Climate Canvas to Help Farmers in Cameroon

In December 2022, the Climate Canvas Initiative team, represented by Kenpod Sarl Ltd. from Morocco, visited Cameroon to provide consultancy services to local farmers. As a result of the visit, Jasmin Tuzovic from Kenpod Sarl strongly recommends integrating climate change impacts and risks in planning agriculture production. It follows that developing mitigation and adaptation strategies through the Climate Canvas approach has tremendous potential for helping farmers to better prepare for future weather shocks.

Climate change is having significant impacts on the agricultural sector in Cameroon. For example, the Sudano-Sahelian agro-ecological zone in the far north region of Cameroon is particularly vulnerable to climate change and has been increasingly experiencing the extremes of heat wave-induced droughts and land erosion, soil fertility declines, and crop flooding resulting from periods of heavy rainfall. As a result of these climate change events, it is becoming more difficult and less reliable to produce certain crops.

Consequently, farmers are having to diversify their crops to produce enough food to support their families. This has caused many of them to lose competitiveness as they are forced into suboptimal diversification to produce a wider variety of crops than they would have in the absence of climate change. Transferring food crops between regions is often impossible. Weather patterns are getting more unpredictable in Cameroon, which necessitates changing how fruits are grown: mangoes, papayas, avocados, coconuts, etc.

The Climate Canvas methodology enables farmers to identify the main climate change threats and the relevant actions needed to protect their livelihoods against climate variability and change. The Climate Canvas Initiative designs projects to support farmers' capacity to undertake risk management by developing an 'integrated farm management' system. This system will allow farmers to combine different climate-smart activities to provide increased resilience in the face of increasing climate change threats.

"With $58 billion needed in adaptation and mitigation interventions, the private sector will have a central role to play to help Cameroon mitigate the impacts of climate change," said Sylvain Kakou, IFC's Country Manager for Cameroon. "Private investment in agriculture, renewable energy, and the environment can make a difference in the fight against climate change while supporting growth, poverty reduction, and job creation in Cameroon."

Both public and private sector institutions must act to address climate change by developing climate-resilient agriculture. The Cameroonian government has also committed to supporting the agriculture sector by promoting sustainable agricultural practices through various policies and programs, including the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP). However, further measures are needed to promote climate action in agriculture and reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions.