Impacts of refugees and climate change on agricultural yields in the Sahelian zone of Minawao, Cameroon

Abstract

The village of Minawao in the Far North of Cameroon is located in the Sudano-Sahelian zone where the population lives mainly from agriculture. Since the installation of refugees from the Boko Haram conflicts, the village of Minawao and its neighbouring villages have experienced a decline in their agricultural yields. In order to know the different impacts of refugees and climate change on agricultural yields, a survey was conducted among the heads of households of refugees and natives; and another was carried out in the transport and agriculture delegations of Mayo-Tsanaga. The data was analysed using XLSTAT software. The result shows that agricultural yield loss was highly reported by refugees in Minawao village (55.45%) and about 570 t/ha of agricultural production is lost annually. Agricultural losses observed in Gawar (530 t/ha) and Zamay (510 t/ha) are also considerable. High temperatures were reported by people in Minawao (98.59%), Sabongari (99.62%) and Zamay (99.62%). The highest rainfall peaks are recorded in 2015 (1236 mm), 2000 (1281 mm) and 2019 (1370 mm). For temperatures, high values were observed in 1989 (28.4°C), 1990 (27°C), 2001 (27.7°C), 2011 (28.8°C) and 2018 (27.4°C). The variations in precipitation and temperature are not proportional. This climate change, combined with the settlement of refugees, is causing the greatest disruption to the agricultural activities of the people of Minawao and its surroundings. The main impact observed is the decrease in agricultural production. This impact causes food scarcity in these villages whose populations live mainly from agriculture. Therefore, participatory management is urgently needed to restore the soil around the refugee camp.