A brief introduction of Agrochemical market in Cameroon

1. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
COUNTRY PRESENTATION
Cameroon is situated in Central Africa, at juncture of the Gulf of Guinea.
It is bounded on the North by Chad, on the East by the Central Africa Republic, on the South
by Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and on the West by Nigeria.
Cameroon is a country with several major towns, amongst which are YAOUNDE, the political
capital of the country with about one million inhabitants. DOUALA, which is the major
economic city, has more than two million inhabitants. The other main towns are GAROUA,
BAFOUSSAM, MAROUA, BAMENDA etc.
Cameroon has more than 240 tribes which are found in three main ethnic groups; Bantus, Semi-
Bantus and Sudanese. The number of national languages spoken in the country is more than
240.
Dry and rainy seasons alternate in the country, with the dry season generally going from
November to April. Temperatures range from 23 to 31°C in January to 21 to 35°C in July.
THE 10 REGIONS
Adamawa Region
Centre Region
East Region
South West Region
Cameroon
Map
Far North Region
Littoral Region
North Region
North West Region
West Region
South Region

2. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
Geography
Capital Yaounde
Population of main cities Douala
(1,906,962) ; Yaoundé
(1,817,524) ; Bamenda
(269,530) ; Garoua
(235,996) ; Maroua (201,371)
Area 475,440 km²
Official Language French and English are the
official languages of
Cameroon.
Demography
Total Population 25,216,237
Urban Population 56.4%
Rate of Activity 76.2%
Literacy Rate 67.9%
Economy
National Currency CFA Franc BEAC (XAF)
Exchange Rate on April 07,
2020April 07, 2020
1 USD = 606.6852 XAF
1 EUR = 655.9570 XAF
GDP (billions USD) 40.62
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual %
Change)
4.2
Employment By Sector (in % of
Total Employment)
Agriculture (46.0), Industry
(14.1), Services (39.9)
Taxation
Value Added Tax (VAT) 19.25%
Trade
Imports of Goods (million USD) 6,128
Exports of Goods (million USD) 3,801
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 43.0

3. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
The agriculture sector in Cameroon is amongst the main occupations for over 70% of citizens
and contributes enormously to the country’s economy. The lack of access to adequate
amounts of safe and nutritious food is a public health concern worldwide and particularly in
Cameroon. Due to its agro-ecological diversity, Cameroon has great potentials for agricultural
production to contribute towards its over 23 million people and beyond, thus contributing
towards feeding the world’s 9 billion people. Until the late 80s, Cameroon was considered
self-sufficient in agricultural production and played a role of food garret for its neighbouring
countries. Since early 90s, Cameroon began spending billions of francs CFA to import large
quantities of food items (rice, maize, onion, tomatoes, milk and poultry) even though relying
on national products has a clear comparative advantage. This has been very worrisome as it
undermines local production potentials and pushes many producers out of the production
chain as a result of unfair competition. The challenges are numerous (but not impossible)
including low levels of input e.g.via governments subsidies as well as the expected adverse
impact of climate change on agriculture now and in the future. This review is a summary of
agricultural systems and food crop productivity in Cameroon, with some recommended
strategies to improve agricultural practices to ensure sustainable increase in food production
capacity and food security in Cameroon.
AREA REPARTITION (1000ha)
COUNTRY
AREA
LAND AREA AGRICULTURE
AREA
FOREST AREA
45 544 47 271 9750 18 816

4. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
CROP
PRESENTATION
Agriculture is amongst the main occupations for over 70% of Cameroonians and contributes enormously to
the Cameroonian economy. In view of the close to 80Image of labour force employed in the Agricultural
sector, an estimated 45% of Cameroon’s gross domestic product (GDP) depends on Agriculture (Johnston
et al., 2007). In addition, Agricultural sector is responsible for providing food security to both the
Cameroonian rural and urban populations via local production. Notwithstanding, with the rapidly expanding
population growth, there is an increased pressure on natural resources. According to Molua and Utomakil
(1998), low levels of input and equally low levels of government subsidies (for example quality seeds,
fertilizers, and herbicides) per capita food production declined from 22.9% and 12.8% as a result of
population growth. As a result, one may clearly anticipate a challenge to the government, which has
continuously experienced an increase in populations and currently estimated at 23 million inhabitants. This
situation may further be frustrated by the expected adverse impact of climate change on agriculture now and
in the future. For example, based on the third and fourth Assessment Reports of the inter-governmental
panel on climate change (IPCC) (BOKO et al., 2007) that predicted extreme evens due to climate change
scenarios (e.g. 1997 and 2005), there remains chances that drought in Cameroon may still occur with
devastating effect. These effects may include food shortages and long-term food insecurity (Inter –Research,
2008). These definitely points to the likelihood of serious food security problems in Cameroon. This review
is a summary of agricultural systems and food crop productivity in Cameroon, with some recommended
strategies to improve agricultural practices to ensure sustainable increase in food production capacity and
food security in Cameroon.

5. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONE
In each agro-ecological zone (Figure 1), the main agricultural production and distribution sites
were included as they represent the most important concentration of pesticide salesmen; then,
in consultation with the divisional officer of the ministry in charge agriculture, the cartography
of villages and farmers’ groups in the area was verified in order to identify the major items
produced and their origins. Therefore, some farmers’ groups were selected randomly based on
their localization and the items they produced. Appointments were made to visit members of
the farmers’ union. Moreover, visits were also made to individual farms of non-members of any
union. Each group received its own questionnaire.

6. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
MAJOR CROP
Crop Total production Topex products
Rice paddy 359 320 Malogbe, Baraka,
Topextra
Wheat 888 Lamachette
Potatoes 219 000 Lamachette, Monjardinier
Cassava 4 596 Lamachette, Monjardinier
Sweet potatoes 349 000 Lamachette, Monjardinier
Sugar cane 1 200 000 Lamachette,
Monjardinier, Topextra
Beans dry 352 000 Lamachette, Monjardinier
Sorghum 1 150 000 Lamachette, Topextra
CROP CALENDAR
Seasonal rains started on time at the beginning of March in southern parts of the
country, allowing the beginning of planting activities of the 2020 main season
maize crop, to be harvested from July. In the uni‑modal rainfall areas of the North,
planting of sorghum and millet is expected to begin in May.
Insecurity and displacements in the Northwest and Southwest regions are
expected to continue affecting agricultural activities and limit farmers’ access to
fields.
In the bi‑modal Centre and South regions, harvesting of the 2019 secondary
season maize crop was completed in January 2020, while the main season maize

7. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
harvest was concluded in September 2019. In the uni‑modal North and Far North
regions, where sorghum and millet crops are predominantly grown, harvesting of
the 2019 crops finalized last November. Adequate and well‑distributed rains
during the season, coupled with a slight increase in plantings, resulted in a
near‑average national cereal output in 2019, estimated at about 3.4 million tonnes.
In Northwest and Southwest Anglophone regions, persisting civil unrest disrupted
agricultural practices and hampered farmers’ access to land. In these regions,
production of crops in 2019 is estimated well below the five‑year average level.
In the Far North Region, despite the civil unrest that spread from neighbouring
Nigeria since late 2014, the 2019 cereal output is estimated at near‑average levels
due to overall favourable weather conditions and a slight increase in planted area.
However, below‑average outputs were obtained in the districts of Zina, Maga,
Gobo and Kai Kai, along the Lagone river, where excessive cumulative
precipitation amounts in September and October 2019 caused flooding with
damage to standing crops and harvested grains.

8. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
The database of pesticides approved for agricultural uses in Cameroon in 2015
contains more than 600 pesticide products [3], with dominant products being
insecticides (33.93%); herbicides (26.55%); fungicides (24.26%); insecticides–
fungicides (4.26%); nematicides (2.3%); growth regulators (1.48%); molluscides
(1.15%); and insecticides–nematicides (1.31%). Types of formulation according
to the international classification code revealed that up to 65% of approved
pesticides belong to only four types of formulation: 28% EC (emulsifiable
concentrate), 15.25% WP (wettable powder), 11.96% SC (suspension
concentrate) and 11.96% SL (soluble liquid concentrate). These formulations are
mixed with water then applied as sprays. Their toxicology classes, according to
theWorld Health Organization classification, indicated that 3% of approved
pesticides are in class Ib (highly hazardous), among which are insecticides and
nematicides used to treat cotton, tomatoes, plantains, vegetables; 2% class Ia
(extremely hazardous) for use in food storage; 32% class II (moderately
hazardous); and 63% class III (slightly hazardous).
Pesticide poisoning is gradually becoming a major public health concern in
Cameroon.
Unfortunately, this problem remains under-addressed, mainly because of the poor
understanding of its implications. Beyond the formal approval procedure for uses,
AGROCHEMICALS
MARKET

9. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
no post-registration surveillance mechanism or toxicovigilance system exists to
monitor accidents and intoxication that may occur.
However, much misuse and many risk factors that can result in serious health risks
for farmers and the general population have been documented: presence of
pesticide residues in most consumed foodstuffs, non-use of personal protective
equipment and drinking-water contamination].
Pesticide poisoning can occur shortly or a long time after exposition. Poisoning
can occur at home, on the farm, via an attempt of suicide, accidental ingestion,
poisoning, alcohol contamination, or during spraying. Farmers’ behaviors have
been explored in order to better understand how their working environment,
including exposure to pesticides, affects their health.
A pilot survey that was carried out in the ten regions of Cameroon between 2001
and 2002 demonstrated that low quality of spraying equipment was a non-
negligible cause of accidents.
Moreover, the absence of personal protective equipment plays a key role in the
extent of body exposure.
With regards to environmental health risk factors, it was found that more than
60% of smallholder farmers throw empty containers of pesticides in the nearby
river, 25% wash their knapsack sprayers at the closest water point, and some even
discharge the remaining pesticide preparation in the river. The same authors
indicated that the most used pesticides in the country were Paraquat and
Glyphosate (herbicides), Cypermethrine and Chlorpyryfos (insecticides), and
Metalaxyl and Maneb copper (fungicides). To keep pesticides out of reach of
children, farmers usually bury pesticide bottles containing the remaining product
on the farm until later use.
Similar studies with farmers in the Galim (west region) showed that only 2.1% of
farmers wear personal protective equipment; more than 76% did not follow the

10. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
user’s instructions written on the product label . Similarly, Tinyami reported that,
of tomato farmers in Buea (south-west region), 47.6% of farmers use
pyrethrinoids and organophosphorus insecticides, 83.8% make use of knapsack
sprayers to treat their plants, 76% did not use personal protective equipment and
85% were said to have experienced at least one symptom of acute pesticide
toxicity after pesticide handling.
Concerning the environmental impact of the massive use of pesticides by fruit and
vegetable farmers in urban and peri-urban areas of Bamenda (north-west region),
environmental pollution has been found to be a huge concern because of the non-
adherence to the regulations on the usage of pesticide products. In addition,
farmers reported many cases of acute pesticide poisoning: itches, skin burn, eye
problems, cough, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, headache and dizziness. To
attenuate the harmful effects of pesticides on their bodies, farmers claim to have
developed numerous strategies depending on the situation: they drink a charcoal
solution, remove their dresses, wash their hands or their bodies, take red palm oil,
drink honey or drink some beers .
These uses and misuses of agricultural pesticides can have a significant impact on
environmental pollution, and finally end up in foodstuffs. A study on the misuse
of pesticides in the north region of Cameroon by farmers [7] revealed that
organochlorine residues (lindane, alpha-endosulfan and beta-endosulfan),
organophosphorus residues (malathion, pirimiphomethyl), synthetic
pyrethrinoids (permethrine) and carbamates (carbofuran) are found in maize and
millet in certain localities of that region at levels higher than the recommended
Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). Nine pesticide residues were detected in
cooked foods: atrazine (spices), chlorothalonil (vegetables), cypermethrin
(tomatoes), deltamethrin (bread), endosulfan (tomatoes, vegetables), malathion
(wheat doughnut), pirimiphos-methyl (spaghetti), dithiocarbamates (papaya,
pineapple, spices) and chlordecone (tomatoes).

11. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
The above described situation suggests poor understanding of pesticide health
risks by farmers, significant environmental pollution and human exposure on
farms, a non-negligible prevalence of pesticide poisoning cases, as well as chronic
pesticide-related diseases.
To once again highlight this problem, and better protect the health of the
population and the environment, national authorities within the framework of the
Rotterdam Convention on the management of hazardous chemicals subjected to
international trade initiated a pilot study in Cameroon. This study aimed at
describing the distribution paths and handling practices of pesticides in the
country, to survey cases of suspected pesticide poisoning of farmers and identify
possible risk factors that could exacerbate human and environmental effects.
THE FIVE MOST PRODUCED ITEMS FOR EACH
AGROECOLOGICAL ZONE
Zone
Main Produce (Top 5) in %
Cumulative %
1 2 3 4 5
Obala Cocoa
30.9%
Maize
10.1%
Plantain
9.7%
Peanut
9.2%
Banana
8.3%
68.2
Foumbot Tomato
20.3%
Maize
16.0%
Bean
15.2%
Chilli
pepper
12.1%
Vegetable
10.2%
73.8
Santa Potato
21.7%
Bean
17.7%
Maize
16.6%
Cabbage
12.6%
Carrot
11.4%
80
Njombe-
Penja
Cocoa
25.7%
Plantain
17.5%
Papaya
12%
Pineappe
9.3%
Macabo
8.7%
73.2
Ngong-
Garoua
Peanut
31%
Maize
27.8%
Cotton
8.5%
Rice
7.3%
Cowpea
6.9%
81.5

12. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
MOST USED AGROCHEMICALS
The most widely-used pesticide is related to the main agricultural products in the
main surveyed sites and surrounding villages. Table 5 is a synopsis of the most
used pesticides (top 5). The cumulative percentage of these top-five pesticides
represents from 40%to 80% of the overall pesticides in circulation in those zones.
In Obala sites, where cocoa is the main culture, fungicides containing metalaxyl
(Ridomil, Callomil and Plantomil) are the most used products, followed by
insecticides (Actara, Onex, Parastar and Lamida Gold). Some of the active
substances are metalaxyl and imidaclopride. It was also noted that the insecticide
Lamida Gold is used in the Obala zone, while the product is homologated for use
on tomatoes; this may suggest possible misuse. In the four other zones,
Gramoxone and Roundup appear to be the most used pesticides. However, it was
noted that Gramoxone was no longer approved for use in Cameroon. However,
because Gramoxone has been used for a long time by certain farmers, when
purchasing their pesticides, some farmers continued to request Gramoxone,
without knowing that it is no longer in circulation. Salesmen say that in such cases,
they provide farmers with a paraquat equivalent.
Glyphosate products are the most used herbicide in each zone (Roundup and
Glyphader). It was difficult to identify certain products used by farmers because
many did not remember the name of the pesticide, and they used local names such
as “timides” to generally designate insecticides.
The specificity of phytosanitaries and pesticides used in the northern part of the
country is quite obvious compared to other regions, but reflects the particularities
of their production. Atrazine and Diuron are mostly used here, but they are not
found elsewhere; both products are used for cotton production.

13. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
Zone
Top five most used pesticides
1 2 3 4 5
Obala Ridomil Onex Actara Callomil Lamida Gold,
Parastar
and Plantomil
Foumbot Gramoxone Timide K-optimal Roundup Cigogne and
Pencozeb
Santa Gramoxone Banko Pencozeb Roundup
and
Mancozan
Parastar
Njombe–
Penja
Gramoxone Pyriforce Glyphader Ridomil and
Supraxone
Roundup and
Capsidor
Ngong–
Garoua
Roundup Atrazine Gramoxone Diuron Biosec Roundup

14. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
DISTRIBUTORS AND MAIN CONTACTS
Name Adress Contact
AFRICA
DISTRIBUTION
CAMEROON SA
Akwa Ancien Cinema Le Berlitz
Douala
+ 237 696 82 87 07
AGRO FARM
AFRICA
Rue Foche 2345, Akwa BP 5489
Douala
+ 237 657 80 15 22
DAREGI GLOBAL
INVESTMENT
HOLDING SA
Rue Ancien Number One,
Bonadibong, Akwa Douala
+ 237 243 751 619
ETS AMBA Douala Cameroon + 237 77 77 17 78
NOUANGA’S
GROUP SARL
1,414 Avenue Foch Mobile
Bonakwamouang, Akwa BP 1667
Douala
+ 237 233 42 00 85
SOCIETE
PLANTATIONS
MBANGA
BP 4737, DOUALA + 237 233 43 40 78
+ 237 233 43 40 74
AGROCOM BP 3118 Douala + 237 233 42 36 71
+ 237 233 42 36 72
Agrocom_cam@yahoo.fr
ASSOOCIATION US Yaounde + 237 693 67 65 86
Ningamof23_@live.fr
GENIE VERT BP 16229 Yaounde + 237 242 10 08 53
+ 237 694 29 65 58

15. CAMEROON REPORT TOPEX
GLOBAL
INVESTMENT
Douala + 237 691 96 24 25
SOCAPALM BP 691 Douala + 237 696 03 45 40