CASH CROP CULTIVATION AND INTERETHNIC RELATIONS OF THE BAKA HUNTER-GATHERERS IN SOUTHEASTERN CAMEROON

Abstract

The Baka hunter-gatherers of southeastern Cameroon practice tree cash crop cultivation, which brings economic benefits but is an activity of delayed-return economy that requires long-term and intensive labor inputs. This article describes the socioeconomic contexts of Baka's cacao cultivation and examines how the Baka have adapted to it, with special references to the dynamics of relationships between farmers, merchants, and hunter- gatherers under the pressure of a market economy. In the course of logging operations and expanding cash crop cultivation, the Baka have started to grow cacao in their own plantations. The Baka also gain cash from wage labor for other farmers with larger plantations. Because of a strong desire for alcohol and consumer goods, the majority of the Baka spend the money immediately after acquisition. On the other hand, a small number of the Baka try to save money so they can employ the other Baka to expand their cacao plantations. Cacao cultivation has provided them with direct access to a market economy without mediation and control by neighboring farmers, which gives the Baka autonomy in the local society. As a result, considerable economic inequality has emerged among individuals, causing a confl ict between self-interest (economic gain) and existing egalitarian ethics.