“The Baka pygmies sell the best quality of bush mango”… according to Mr. Abdou Ndi wholesaler from southern Cameroon. But they are making poor profits. Thanks to the action of SNV, for the first time, they could sell their products at the actual market price.

The dense, tropical forests of southern Cameroon constitutes a survival base for around 3,500 Baka pygmies.

The problems of their daily survival are compounded by increased population pressure, diminishing access to resources, and historic discrimination. In addition, the products they sell are generally far below the market price. As a result, their scores on issues such as life expectancy (around 40) or education are even lower than those of their poor Bantu neighbours …

Complete mapping

SNV was the first organisation to realise that the Baka were by far the largest producers of non-timber forest products (fruit, nuts and medicinal plants) in the South, producing 70% of them. And that Nigeria was by far the biggest market, with 80% of the market share, and demanding more! SNV also found that the most sought after product was the bush mango. To reach this conclusion, the organization conducted a mapping of the entire value-chain of NTFP, including wholesalers, transporters and government officials…

Equal business partners

To help the Baka commercialise their products properly, SNV focused on restructuring the value chain. A radio system was set up to exchange information on market prices of NTFP. SNV also increased productivity and quality by introducing cutting machines … 

As a result, for the first time ever, thanks to the radio system, the Baka were able to sell products at the actual market price : 600 kilos of bush mango for around 1,000 euro.