• Study highlights women’s central but marginalized role in Cameroon cocoa sector
• Women perform most work yet control only 20-30% of income
• Land insecurity affects 87% of female producers, report finds

The Center for Environment and Development (CED) and the NGO Fern published a study on Thursday, Jan. 29, on the role of women, including indigenous women, in Cameroon’s cocoa sector.

Conducted across 10 localities in the Centre, South and East regions, the survey highlights a paradox: women form a central part of the workforce but remain marginalized in access to land, cooperative governance and control over income.

According to the report, women take part in most operations, including land preparation, plantation maintenance, harvesting, pod breaking, processing and labour organization. However, they remain largely absent from several key areas, such as land registries, cooperative bodies, commercial contracts and, most notably, the distribution of earnings.

CED and Fern estimate that even when women perform a major share of the work, they often control only 20% to 30% of cocoa income. This portion is generally used for domestic expenses. Investment decisions, asset building and participation in cooperatives reportedly remain mostly the responsibility of men.

Land insecurity: 87% of women producers affected, according to CED

The study points to widespread insecurity over land rights, with a more pronounced impact on women. Out of 191 female producers interviewed, 13% said they have a land title, while 38% reported having no document proving ownership of the land they farm.

In total, the report concludes that 87% of women producers are in a situation of land insecurity. This includes cases where access to plots depends on family or customary arrangements, which are often fragile in the face of conflict, inheritance disputes or land sales.

The document also emphasizes the situation of indigenous women, particularly among the Baka. Marginalized both as women and as indigenous people, they are situated at the bottom of the social and economic hierarchy. The study indicates that they frequently work on plantations belonging to third parties, with little or no control over their income and increased exposure to violence and discrimination.

Another finding is a gradual feminization of cocoa production, particularly among those aged 25 to 45. The report describes this group as the active core of the sector in the studied areas, including on plantations that do not belong to them. It also notes that some women are directly managing increasingly large planted areas, while continuing to handle most domestic responsibilities.

EUDR: a distant reform for many women producers

The publication comes as access to the European market is being shaped by new rules. The report notes that implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which introduces traceability requirements down to the plot level, has been delayed.

In the surveyed villages, awareness of the regulation remains limited. Sixty-eight percent of the women interviewed said they had never heard of it. Those who had often associated it with a general message of forest protection, without understanding the concrete obligations, such as geolocation, proof of land legality and risk management requirements.

The authors warn that these rules could increase pressure on the most fragile links in the chain if support measures are not put in place, particularly regarding women’s access to land and information. The report proposes several paths forward, including securing women’s land rights, providing dedicated access to information and training, supporting female agricultural entrepreneurship and improving representation within cooperatives.

Thierry Christophe Yamb