NTFP Market at Yaounde. Photo Michael Hailu
On 16 October, the international community commemorated the World Food Day. This day was instituted following the 1996 World Food Summit. During this summit, world leaders committed to reducing by half the number of hungry and malnourished people before 2015. Some parts of the world made significant progress in reducing hunger and malnutrition. However, recent figures by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that in Africa, hunger and malnutrition remain very high. Even Central Africa- the “green belly” of the continent covered with vast expanses of dense humid forests- is not totally immune to this problem.
Food insecurity
A good climate with a lot of rain gives the impression that enough food is available in the region, and that food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition are not a problem. During World Food Day, FAO presented a paper on ‘The State of Food Insecurity in 2006’. The report shows that Cameroon, Gabon and Congo are doing reasonably well. The number of undernourished people in the Democratic Republic of Congo though tripled in the last ten years, mainly due to the war. Yet the DRC could become the ‘bread basket’ or the granary for the whole continent, given its size and huge agricultural and food production potential.
Abundant rainfall
Back to Cameroon. A country that fortunately does not make world headlines with pictures of famine stricken children and adults. Pictures that have become common for some countries in the Sahel or the Horn of Africa. Nevertheless, some parts of the country remain vulnerable to food insecurity. The climatic conditions in the north make food production more difficult. But even in the south of the country, where rainfall is abundant, some households do not have access to adequate food supply. Poverty is one factor. Some people don’t earn enough to buy, transport, store and prepare food. Other factors are ignorance, uneven distribution of food variety and some traditional practices which prevent people from diversifying their diet.
Toolkit
In fighting food insecurity, one particular source of food is often underutilized or undervalued: the forest. Forests can make a significant contribution towards poverty alleviation and eradication of hunger. Of the 600 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank estimates that 420 million depend on forests and woodlands for their livelihoods. From fuel wood to clean water, food, fodder and building materials for shelter, the forest is a source of basic livelihoods for many Africans. The ‘food rich’ forests with their nutritious resources are an indispensable part of the toolkit for fighting food insecurity. Forestry research institutions show that a number of forest resources can give households a balanced diet as well as an income. These forest resources are known as ‘non-timber forest products’. They include fruits, bushmeat, honey, insects and leafy vegetables such as Gnetum, known as ‘eru’ in Cameroon. These products are abundant in the forests of the Congo Basin. Since some of them are very popular in the whole region, people who trade them can earn money to buy products not available in the forest, such as rice, chicken, milk, et cetera.
Eru and cocoa
CIFOR research showed that some non-timber forest products could provide even more income to local populations than traditional cash crops such as cocoa or coffee. For local communities to fully benefit from these products, governments should introduce policies that promote sustainable harvesting and efficient commercialization. This is especially important for women and marginalized groups, who are the majority working in this sector.
Policy dialogue
As each country reflects on options to eradicate hunger and curtail food insecurity, the contribution that forests can make to this objective should not be overlooked, especially for countries of the Congo Basin which are still endowed with vast forest resources. We need a continous policy dialogue to inform policy makers and donors on the importance of forests in the livelihood of rural communities and the need to include forest products in the poverty reduction strategy programmes developed in the region.
Cyrie Sendashonga, Ph D
Regional Coordinator
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Regional Office for Central Africa