Cameroon
Farmer Seona Ban, a 2006 graduate from Cameroon
Farmer Profile — Seona Ban
Below is a profile of a 2006 graduate, Seona Ban, which appeared in the Spring, 2006 NESFP Newsletter:
Seona Ban misses the large open cooking fires. She misses the intense flavor of fresh corn after it roasts in the outdoor flames. "People here prefer the soft-kernel corn," she says. "In my country, we feel that the best flavor comes from the hard kernel."
It's been three years since Seona Ban, originally from Bamenda, Cameroon, has tasted the hard-kernel corn of her homeland. Seona left Cameroon in 2003, and was able to eventually settle in Lowell, mainly through the efforts of her brother, who had immigrated 12 years earlier. Seona provides childcare for her brother's two children (aged three and four years-old). Seona's cousin also lives in Lowell. Seona left behind her parents, three sisters, and another brother. She keeps in touch with friends and family members in Cameroon by phone.
When she lived in Cameroon, an integral part of Seona's daily life included working with family members on the farm. She says, "Since opportunities for employment are limited ... everyone farms." She graduated from the NESFP farmer training program in February, 2006, and began farming on NESFP managed land in May, 2006.
Seona feels that farming in Cameroon is probably much easier than farming in Massachusetts since, "there are only two seasons in Cameroon: its either rainy or dry. The rainy season lasts for nine months." These conditions allow for a longer growing season, and a somewhat more predictable climate. Average temperatures in Cameroon are in the 80's. The crops that Seona grew in Cameroon included cassava (a tropical root plant), cocoyams (with a gestation period of up to six months), black beans and corn.
When Seona arrived in the U.S., she was amazed by the abundance of grocery stores and corner markets. In Cameroon, she had no shopping alternatives. The choice was either fresh food, or no food. Bamenda contains only one single large open-air regional market. This market attracts both local residents and people from surrounding towns. Those who live outside of town utilize the market as a wholesale supplier, and they carry purchases home for resale to their neighbors.
She farms organically on her assigned plot at Richardson's Dairy farm in Dracut. She also participates in the World PEAS Coop and CSA operations.
Country Facts
Originally a German colony, Cameroon was split into two colonies, controlled by the French and the British, after World War I. The independent Republic of Cameroon was established in 1961 following unification of the two former colonies.
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra
Capital: Yaounde
Area: Slightly larger than California, 475,440 square miles, Land: 469,440 square miles, Water: 6,000 square miles
Climate: Tropical along the coast, semi-arid and hot in the north
Terrain: Diverse, coastal plain in the southwest, plateau in the center, mountainous in the west, plains in the north
Land Use: Arable land: 12.81%, Permanent crops: 2.58%
Irrigated Land: about 330 square km
Environmental Issues: Waterborne diseases, deforestation, overgrazing, desertification, poaching, over fishing
Population: 16,380,005
Life Expectancy: 50.89 years
GDP per capita: $800
Under 5 mortality rate (per 1000 live births): 149
Ethnic Groups: Highlanders, Equatorial Bantu, Kirdi,
Fulani, Northwestern Bantu, Eastern Nigritic, among others
Languages: French, English, and African languages like Bamileke, Ewondo, Bamoun, Fulfulde, and Arabic
Major Religions: Christianity, Islam, and indigenous beliefs
Agriculture
In the 1960's, Cameroon was one of the most prosperous countries in Africa. However, a drop in commodity prices for petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton , combined with an overvalued currency, widespread corruption, and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Many people in Cameroon still practice subsistence agriculture, although rapid urbanization is causing this number to decrease. Cameroon's relative political stability has allowed for development in agriculture.
The agricultural labor is split amongst men and women, with men being responsible for cash crops and women for all household food production. During the growing season, women spend 6-8 hours per day in agriculture in addition to housework.
Agriculture Products: coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber
Traditional Foods
- Fufu: Made of Cassava
- Soups and stews: peanut soup, meat and vegetable stews.
- Sauces are made from ingredients such as ginger, onions, peppers, tomatoes and fish.
- Rice and vegetables such as okra, plantains, squashes, spinach and sweet potatoes are popular.
- Fruits are bananas, citrus fruits, mangoes, papayas and pineapples.
- Palm oil is used in cooking.
