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[Population dynamics, the development of agricultural systems, and agricultural production in the densely populated rural areas of Cameroon].


 This comparative examination of changes in agrarian systems in 3 densely populated regions of Cameroon is intended to assess the role of demographic factors in agrarian changes and to permit prediction of future ability of the regions to continue supporting dense populations while providing a surplus for export to the rapidly growing cities. The 3 regions, Bamileke, Mont Mandaras, and the department of Lekie, are characterized by different climatic conditions, vegetation, soil types, and social organization. The total population of the 3 regions has increased from 1,278,644 in 1976 to 1,799,782 in 1987. High fertility rates seem to be the principal factor in this rapid growth. Despite very different systems of land tenure and crop regimes, the 3 areas have in common a serious lack of new lands capable of absorbing their surplus labor, and all have been greatly influenced by the introduction and spread of cash crops as their populations have come to see the land as a producer of income in addition to food, and have attempted to maximize their land holdings in conformity with their available labor and especially their desire for cash. In some areas land is no longer given to young men. Erosion and soil exhaustion are increasing. The spread of cash crops threatens the local food supply, and earnings tend to be invested in housed or wedding ceremonies rather than in increasing production. Population pressure has prompted colonization of new lands and migration to the cities or other rural areas, as well as appropriation of communal lands for private use. Conflicts over land are carried over into other areas of communal life. Underemployment of young men in some areas has led to delinquency. Efforts to intensify land use appear to be successful in the long run only where the soil is rich. Demographic pressure is a factor in the agrarian transformation of these areas, but it is only 1 of a number of factors of which the most important appears to be the entrance of the traditional economy into the cash system. But by 1960 in the Bamileke plateau and Mont Mandaras and after 1970 in the Lekie country population no longer appeared as a consequence but as the main cause of rural structural changes. Containing the demographic pressure on the land and maintaining food self-sufficiency will require combatting poverty in general, through a series of actions aimed at both the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors.
