(Business in Cameroon) – Sodecoton and Onacc signed a five-year framework agreement to enhance cotton production resilience to climate change.
- Climate change has caused CFA13.8 billion ($23 million) in cotton losses in Cameroon’s Far North in 2024.
- Floods and droughts annually cause approximately CFA140 billion ($233 million) in direct economic losses in Cameroon.
The Cotton Development Corporation of Cameroon (Sodecoton) and the National Observatory on Climate Change (Onacc) signed a five-year framework agreement. This accord aims to strengthen the resilience of cotton production against climate change impacts, as announced by both institutions on September 16.
In Cameroon, rising temperatures, decreasing rainfall, and irregular rainy seasons severely weaken agriculture. According to Onacc, the last three decades have witnessed a continuous decline in rainfall, prolonged dry seasons, and an increase in extreme events such as droughts and floods.
These disruptions directly affect the cotton sector, an economic pillar of northern Cameroon. In 2024, recorded losses in the Far North region reached nearly CFA13.8 billion for cotton and CFA8.8 billion for onions, according to data cited by Sodecoton.
Cotton, a key cash crop in the North, suffers particularly from water stress, poor germination due to irregular rainfall, flower and capsule abortion caused by high temperatures, and an increased proliferation of pests. Fiber quality is also affected, impacting its market value.
“It is because of these observations that the necessity to respond to these issues represents a very strong constraint for Sodecoton, which seeks Onacc’s technical support to better adapt its activities. Hence the signing of this framework cooperation agreement between the two institutions,” Sodecoton explained.
The agreement outlines several cooperation areas. These include climate monitoring and climatological service production, economic cost assessment of disruptions, greening Sodecoton’s activities, data exchange, and producer awareness. Both parties also intend to mobilize funding to implement planned actions.
According to the Disaster Risk Financing Strategy published by the Ministry of Finance (Minfi), floods and droughts annually cause direct economic losses in Cameroon, estimated at nearly CFA140 billion. Floods alone generate an average of 74.7 to CFA115 billion in annual losses. Almost 90% of these losses affect the housing, transport, production, and services sectors, while only 10% impact agriculture (approximately $20 million). Between 2019 and 2024, natural disasters destroyed some 49,450 hectares of crops, increasing the vulnerability of rural households already heavily dependent on agriculture.
Sodecoton, the main actor in Cameroon’s cotton sector, annually produces over 300,000 tonnes of cotton-seed. It directly or indirectly supports nearly 2 million people in the North and Far North.
This article was initially published in French by Amina Malloum
Adapted in French by Ange Jason Quenum
