Abstract
Many renewable resources the world over are increasingly becoming non-renewable owing to massive and/or abusive exploitation, and little conservation. There is growing quest to conserve resources and switch to dependence on renewable resources. World summits on environment recommend sustainable use of resources to guarantee sustainable development. How sustainably these resources are being used and the extent to which their usage brings about sustainable development especially in rural communities remains a debatable issue. Cameroon’s rural milieu teems with abundant renewable resources which have lain idle, been under exploited and/or wantonly exploited for any sustainable economic growth and development of the areas. This paper examines goat and natural pasture as abundant renewable resources, the widespread involvement of the rural population in exploiting these resources in contrast with the low level of exploitation. The inherent potentials of these resources in guaranteeing food security and sustainable development of rural areas, and government neglect of small ruminant livestock production are assessed. The basic assumption is that the attention paid goat culture by farmers, government and research institutions is incommensurate to the available potentials for a profitable large-scale commercial agricultural activity. Primary and secondary sources were invaluable in providing data for analysis. Key findings depict that goats are valuable assets providing flexible financial reserves for poor rural farmers during periods of economic stress; a buffer against crop failure; and a source of cash income enabling farmers meet various needs. Despite its multifarious functions, very little progress has been made in utilising the available resources efficiently towards improving commercial productivity; nutritional level and general living standards of rural population. This paper suggests that these abundant renewable resources could be harnessed to increase food productivity and security; the economic status of rural population and boost their contribution to economic development. Key words: Renewable resource, food security, traditional management systems, cash income, sustainable rural development, Donga Mantung.
Highlights
Rural areas, especially in Africa, often depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihood which accounts for more than 70% of employment of the rural poor
The management systems employed in goat rearing in Donga Mantung Division is predominantly influenced by the cultural beliefs of the local population
The question about increased goat productivity in the Donga Mantung towards raising farmers’ incomes is, ‘why have there been changes in farming systems in the livestock sectors of some countries like Denmark and The Netherlands which have resulted in a boosting of livestock farming to the status of a viable industry employing thousands of farmers, and generating high incomes; and not in African countries?’ Livestock farming has become the mainstay of many farmers in The Netherlands who derive their livelihood from it
Summary
Especially in Africa, often depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihood which accounts for more than 70% of employment of the rural poor. The economic potentials of its rich agricultural base have not yet been fully exploited. Arable farmers derive little financial benefits from the abundant crop harvests owing to poor state of farm-tomarket roads and to the difficulty of evacuating farm produce to the major urban markets. The full potential of the enormous natural pasture that abounds in this region is not exploited since utilisation is only during the early half of the rainy season and no haying is practiced. Goat culture is still more of a microagricultural activity in Cameroon, undertaken mostly by peasant farmers and has received little attention and investments by the government, appropriate nongovernmental organisations and/or research institutes. Very little progress has been made in utilising the available resources efficiently towards improving commercial productivity and the nutritional level or the general living standards of the entire population
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