A fresh start for flooding victims

In situations like the October 2022 floods, where anticipation and contingency aren’t enough, FAO has established response plans to help communities get back on their feet and restart their livelihoods as quickly as possible.

Relocated to Kinabari, Saleh and his family received more than one hectare of land from Blama, the head of the neighborhood. FAO provided him with onion seeds and an agricultural kit consisting of hoes, machetes, sprayers and shovels to enable him to resume his agricultural activities.

Saleh says fondly that the help he received gave him "the courage to make a fresh start."

"Today we harvest part of my plot. My onions sell for a very good price because they are of better quality than what is found on the market," he says.

Dandi Eloi Ganaf, Sub-Prefect of the commune of Blangoua, explains that FAO helped the people of Blangoua to get out of the difficult situation in which they found themselves after the floods. 

"Thanks to FAO, the district of Blangoua is now part of the onion production basins in the Far North region," Ganaf states with great joy.

Like Saleh, several flood victims say that the project’s support in terms of inputs, seeds, agricultural emergency kits and other tools, as well as the on-the-ground monitoring provided by FAO, have greatly contributed to improving their living conditions. 

Agbassi Adoum, Mayor of Makary commune, said, “FAO has brought such great hope that these people have smiled again."  

"It was not enough to give them clothes and food, but to make them independent by giving them seeds to work their own fields. That's what FAO did!" he concludes.

With this alert system, populations exposed to agro-climatic risks are now better equipped to face future hazards.

"We are now more organized, more prepared for the occurrence of a crisis, we no longer panic as was the case before," says Abaicho Abakar, President of the Committee for Preparation and Response of the Blangoua region.

In the long term, the project plans to take this anticipatory action initiative to other communes in Cameroon.

Learn more

• Website: FAO country profile: Cameroon
• Website: FAO emergencies and resilience

Publication: Anticipatory action: Changing the way we manage disasters