Buying and land rental in the mountains: what are the challenges for the development of modern farms? Case of the Bamboutos Mountains - West - Cameroon

Abstract

Population growth, the globalization of trade and urban demand for agricultural products in altitude have made the Bamboutos Mountains a space with great challenges. The demand for arable land has resulted in the near saturation of agricultural land. Buying and leasing land has become the most innovative practices breaking down traditional rules of access to land. These new modes of access to land have led to the most profound agricultural changes in the mountains. This article sees this type of emergence of new modes of access to land as major agricultural development issues. The objective of this article is to show that the purchase and rental of land in the Bamboutos Mountains is an issue for the development of modern farms. The methodology adopts an approach that favors prolonged contact with the field and direct communication with farmers. A field survey by questionnaire was carried out with 240 farmers. Stratified and snowball sampling techniques guided our choices. At the end of these results, it emerges that: A transfer of land from landowners who are sometimes absent, into the hands of those who have the will and the capacity to develop them. Its purpose is the sale which represents 29%, better the rental of land which affects 57% of the cases observed. The mountain then entered an era of development (sensu lato) never equaled. This reflects the economic dimension taken by mountain agriculture. The ensuing consequences are: the construction or emergence of territories, the development of agri-cities connected to distant consumption centers, the development of land and the emergence of modern farms. However, if land reclamation leads to the emergence of land in the mountains, it should be noted that this land reclamation weakens this geographic space which is initially at risk.