A Sustainable Livelihoods Analysis of Small-Scale Farmers in M'muock, Cameroon : Local Realities and Structural Constraints

Abstract

A large portion of the worlds poor live in rural areas, many deriving a large part of their incomes from agricultural activities. A number of international development agencies have recently shown an increasing interest in agricultural development as a means of achieving wide spread poverty alleviation. This thesis explores the constraints and opportunities for the development of smallholder farming in M'muock, Cameroon and what the implications of the wider vulnerability context are. It analyses how aspects of neoliberalism and globalization are producing unsustainable terms of trade for agricultural commodities in developing countries, and how this in combination with global environmental change is effecting the adaptive capacity and livelihoods of farmers. The overall aim is do discern the main constraints and opportunities to secure sustainable livelihoods for small-scale farmers in M'muock by identifying linkages between local, national and global scales.