Agricultural Calendar for the 2026 first cropping season

INTRODUCTION
1.1. Context and justification
The 6th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2022 confirms the evidence of climate change and its harmful effects on socio-economic
development and ecosystems. This report particularly reveals the highly vulnerable nature of Africa toclimate change and highlights the multiple risks and impacts
already experienced by the continent. In the countries of the Horn of Africa, it has been observed that extreme droughts cause agricultural losses, resulting in a
lack of access to food for the population. In 2011, around 12.4 million people were suffering from famine in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia (FAO, 2011). The
search for solutions to the negative effects of climate disruption on development sectors is, therefore, becoming a priority for African countries.
In Cameroon, climate change is reflected, among other things, in the disruption of the onset and end dates of the rainy seasons, the decrease in rainfall amounts,
the poor distribution of the number of rainy days, the multiplication of extreme climate events (floods, extreme droughts, violent winds, sandstorms and haze,
etc.). The corollary of all these effects of climate change is the disruption of agricultural and livestock activities, the upsurge in crop pathologies, the loss of
biodiversity, conflicts over the management of natural resources, food insecurity, population migration and the degradation of ecosystems.
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The absence of forecasts and baseline information on these disasters increases the country’s vulnerability to climate change (PNACC 2015, National
Communications 2005 and 2015, PAN-LCD 2006, NBSAP 2012).
Cameroon, aware of the stakes of this global phenomenon for its socio-economic development, has committed itself to processes of mitigation and adaptation to
climate change, notably the ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adherence to the Kyoto Protocol and, most recently, the
signature and ratification of the Paris Agreement. To better monitor the commitments made under the aforementioned Conventions and Protocols, the Head of
State has created and made the National Observatory on Climate Change (NOCC) operational, entrusting its main mission to “monitor and assess the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of climate change, and propose preventive, mitigating and/or adaptation measures to the harmful effects and
risks associated with these changes.”. In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER), the Observatory produces an
agricultural calendar each season, specific to the agro-ecological zones. This is a decision-making and advisory tool for agricultural activities and adaptation to
the effects of climate change. From March to May 2026, a specific agricultural calendar has been produced for the Mono and Bimodal rainforest zones, as well as
the Western Highlands.