Assessment of USAID's agribusiness program : Cameroon case study

The evaluation finds, with some qualifications, that the FSSRP achieved its main policy reform objective -- the liberalization and privatization of fertilizer distribution in Cameroon -- as well as its intermediate objective of making fertilizer available to farmers on a more timely basis and at a lower cost. However, this applies only to the seven coffee-producing provinces; fertilizer distribution in the three northern cotton-producing provinces is still controlled by the government. The FSSRP has had little impact on increasing agricultural production or farmers' income, which, while not stated goals of the FSSRP, are basic objectives of USAID's agribusiness programs; the evaluation attributes the stagnation in production to factors outside the project's control, mainly a sharp decline in world coffee prices, and maintains that if the project's policy reforms are sustained and expanded (which is by no means certain), they will ultimately lead to improvements for small farmers and agribusiness distributors. Two principal, and contrasting, lessons learned are identified. (1) Policy reform can be effective in bringing about positive change in the agribusiness sector, and success in one area can pave the way for reform in other sectors; for example, arabica coffee marketing in Cameroon has been privatized, based largely on the FSSRP experience. (2) Successful policy reform does not guarantee an increase in production, employment, and/or agricultural value added; such achievements require both favorable macroeconomic conditions and an integrated approach encompassing marketing policy reforms, improved marketing infrastructure and services, and more effective public and private sector agricultural research and extension.