Impact of Mega-Agricultural Projects, Searching the Silver Lining in Cameroon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jepm.1707Keywords:
Megaprojects, Agriculture, Silver Lining, Project-Delay, Western Cameroon.Abstract
Purpose: Large-scale projects have created significant positive impacts in different countries around the world. Such impact is less common in Africa and Cameroon's agricultural sector in particular. This study was designed to investigate such impact due to the renewed interest in such projects, whereas, there is a slow rate of development of the agricultural sector in Cameroon.
Methodology: We examined the experience of actors in the sector and analysed qualitative responses to a survey examining the possible impact of some completed major large-scale projects in Ngoketunjia of the North West Region and the Noun of the Western Region. A total of 45 experts were interviewed and 400 farmers provided answers to survey questions probing ‘silver linings’ they may have experienced from large-scale projects. We analysed these qualitative responses using a thematic analysis approach.
Findings: Respondents identified a silver lining under two themes social and economic. Socially, skills and knowledge improvement were observed to have improved while access to social facilities (electricity, health, water, schools), as well as integration and interactions amongst villagers, were less visible. Therefore the claim that large-scale agricultural projects led to social impact might be a faulty one as the silver lining in this dimension cannot be directly attributed to such projects. Under the economic domain silver lining was observed in access to employable opportunities, market, and finance access as well as value added to raw materials. However, no silver lining was observed in income-generating activities and production volume increments.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice, and Policy: Major impact disruptions were linked to project design and delays that affected the budget, supply shortages, and efficiency. To create the desired impact, we recommend that, large-scale projects should proactively focus on impact-driven project components as well as reschedule activities to minimize delays, penalties, and cost overruns.
Downloads
References
Abesha, N., Assefa, E., &Petrova, M. A. (2022). Large-scale agricultural investment in Ethiopia: Development, challenges, and policy responses. Land Use Policy, 117, 106091.
Abylova, V., &Salykova, L. (2019). Critical success factors in project management: a comprehensive Review Project Management World Journal, 8, 1-13.
Ashkanani, S., &Franzoi, R. (2022). An overview of megaproject management systems. Management Matters, 19(2), 129-148.
Balkyte, A. &Tvaronavičiene, M. (2010): Perception of competitiveness in the context of sustainable development: facets of “sustainable competitiveness”. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 11(2). 341–365
Ball, A. (2016). The future of agriculture in Cameroon in the age of agricultural biotechnology. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2287. Available at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2287. Accessed 21th August 2023
Bamberger, M., & Cheema, S. (1990). Case studies of project sustainability. The World Bank. Washington, D. C.
Bekele, F., & Bekele, I. (2017). Social and environmental impacts on agricultural development. In Agricultural development and food security in developing nations (pp. 21-56). IGI Global.
Brussel, M., Zuidgeest, M., Pfeffer, K., &Maarseveen, V. M. (2019). Access or accessibility? A critique of the urban transport SDG indicator. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 8(67).
Capka, J.R. 2004. Megaprojects—They are a different breed. Public Roads, 68(1). Available at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/04jul/01.cfmAccessed on March 11, 2023.
Chamber of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forests CAPEF. 2023. Summary tables of projects and programs available in MINEPIA and MINADER. Available at: https://capefcmr.cm/documents/REPERTOIRE%20PROJETS%20PRODIFIR%20ANGLAIS.pdf Accessed 21th august 2023
Chih, Y., Zwikael, O. 2015. Project benefit management: A conceptual framework of targetbenefit formulation. International Journal of Project Management, 33 (1)
Doan, P., &Oduro, C. Y. (2012). Patterns of population growth in peri-urban Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(6), 1306–1325.
Engström L. &Hajdu F. (2019) Conjuring ‘Win-World’ – Resilient Development Narratives in a Large-Scale Agro-Investment in Tanzania, The Journal of Development Studies, 55:6, 1201-1220
Erkul, M., Yitmen, I., &Çelik, T. (2016). Stakeholder engagement in mega transport infrastructure projects. Procedia Engineering, 161(1), 704–710
Flyvbjerg, B. (2014). "What You Should Know About Megaprojects and Why: An Overview". Project Management Journal. 45 (2): 6–19.
Folefack, A. J. J., Tchoua, L. V., &Muluh, G. A. (2020). Determinants of adoption of Agri-environmental practices by maize producers organised in cooperatives in the Centre region of Cameroon. International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 14(7), 2434-2451.
Gbetnkom, D., & Khan, S. A. (2020). Determinants of agricultural exports: The case of Cameroon (Doctoral dissertation, AERC
Gellert, P. And Lynch, B. (2003): Mega-projects as displacements. International Social Science Journal, 55.15–25.
Guyalo, A.K., Alemu, E.A. &Degaga, D.T. (2022). Impact of large-scale agricultural investments on the food security status of local community in Gambella region, Ethiopia. Agric& Food Secur 11, 43
Gyapong, A. Y. (2020). How and why large scale agricultural land investments do not create long-term employment benefits: A critique of the 'state of labour regulations in Ghana. Land Use Policy, 95, 104651.
Hamann, S., & Sutherland, C. (2015). Megaprojects and sustainability in Durban, South Africa: Convergent or divergent agendas? Habitat International, 45, 205-212.
Harwood, R. R. (2020). A history of sustainable agriculture. In Sustainable agricultural systems ( 3-19). CRC Press.
He, Q., Xu, J., Wang, T., & Chan, A. P. (2021). Identifying the driving factors of a successful megaproject construction management: Findings from three Chinese cases. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 8(1), 5-16.
Ika, L.A., A., Diallo, A. D. Thuillier (2012) Critical success factors for World Bank projects: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Project Management, 30(1), 105-116.
International Fund for Agricultural Development; IFAD (2010). President's Report –Commodity Value Chain Support Project Project: Commodity Value-Chain Development Support Project.Available at:https://www.ifad.org/en/web/operations/-/project/1100001439Accessed March 11th, 2023.
International Fund for Agricultural Development; IFAD (2018). PADFA - Rapport achèvement Rapport d’achèvement Rapport principal et appendicesAvailable at: https://www.ifad.org/en/-/document/padfa-rapport-achevementAccessed on March11, 2023.
International Fund for Agricultural Development; IFAD. 2023. Cameroon project and programs. Available at: https://www.ifad.org/en/web/operations/w/country/cameroonAccessed on March 11, 2023.
Jayne, T. S., Muyanga, M., Wineman, A., Ghebru, H., Stevens, C., Stickler, M. ... & Nyange, D. (2019). Are medium‐scale farms driving agricultural transformation in sub‐Saharan Africa?. Agricultural Economics, 50, 75-95.
Kennedy, L. (2015): The politics and changing paradigm of megaproject development in metropolitan cities. Habitat International, 45. 163–168
Khanani, R. S., Adugbila, E. J., Martinez, J. A., &Pfeffer, K. (2021). The impact of road infrastructure development projects on local communities in peri-urban areas: the case of Kisumu, Kenya and Accra, Ghana. International journal of community well-being, 4(1), 33-53.
Kimengsi, J. N., Balgah, R. A., &Gwan, S. A. (2016). Enhancing community participation for rural Development in Central Ejagham of Cameroon: Challenges and Prospects. Int. J. Community Dev, 4, 20-32.
Korytárová, J., Hromádka, V., &Federla, J. (2022). Impacts of Determining Economic Life of Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects on Their EconomicEffectiveness. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8, 908300.
Krijnen, M. (2018). Gentrification and the creation and formation of rent gaps: opening up gentrification theory to global forces of urban change. City, 22(3), 437–446
Kwak, Y.H., Walewski, J., Sleeper, D., &Sadatsafavi, H. 2014a. What Can We Learn from The Hoover Dam: that Influenced Modern Project Management. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 256–264.
Li, H.; Chen, Z.; Wong, C.T.; Love, P.E. (2002): A quantitative approach to construction pollution control based on resource levelling. Construction innovation, 2(2), 71–81.
Manno, J. P. (2011). Looking for a silver lining: the possible positives of declining energy return on investment (EROI). Sustainability, 3(11), 2071-2079.
Merrow E.W. (2011) Industrial megaprojects: concepts, strategies, and practices for success, Wiley, Chichester, UK.
Ministry of agriculture and rural development, MINADER (2022). Statistical yearbook of the ministry of agriculture and Rural Development AGRISTAT NO. 18: Available at:https://www.minader.cm/wpcontent/uploads/2023/11/AGRISTAT_NEW_18_ANG.pdf Accessed 21th august 2023
Ministry of finance MINFI (2023). Report on the nation’s economic, social, and financial situation and prospects. 2022 financial year. Available at: https://minfi.gov.cm/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/REF_2022_ENG.pdf Accessed 21th august 2023
Mosley, J., and E.E. Watson. 2016. Frontier transformations: development visions, spaces and processes in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Eastern African Studies 10 (3): 452–475.
Müller-Mahn, D., Mkutu, K., &Kioko, E. (2021). Megaprojects—mega failures? The politics of aspiration and the transformation of rural Kenya. The European Journal of Development Research, 33, 1069-1090.
Patanakul, P. 2014. Managing large-scale IS/IT projects in the public sector: Problems and causes leading to poor performance," Journal of High Technology Management Research,25 (1), pp. 21-35
Porter, G. (2011). ‘I think a woman who travels a lot is befriending other men and that’s why she travels’:mobility constraints and their implications for rural women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Gender,Place and Culture, 18(1), 65–81
Samset, K. (2013): Strategic and tactical performance of mega-projects – between successful failures and inefficient successes. International Handbook on Mega-Projects, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp.11–33.
Shenhar, A.J. &Dvir, D. 2007. Reinventing project management: The Diamond approach to successful growth and innovation. Boston: Harvard Business School Press
Slevin, D. P., & Pinto, J. K. (1987). Balancing strategy and tactics in the project implementation. Sloan Management Review, 29(1), 33-41.
Steg, L. & Gifford, R. (2005): Sustainable transportation and quality of life. Journal of transport geography, 13(1), 59–69
Stein, S., &Kalina, M. (2021). Becoming an Agricultural Growth Corridor. In Contemporary Megaprojects: Organization, Vision, and Resistance in the 21st Century (pp. 83-100). Berghahn.
Sutherland, C.; Sim, V.; Scott, D. (2015): Contested Discourses of A Mixed-Use Megaproject: Cornubia, Durban, Habitat International, 45, pp.185–195.
Tambi, M. D. (2019). Agricultural training and its impact on food crop production in Cameroon. Journal of Socioeconomics and Development, 2(1), 1-11.
Witte, D. P., & Spit, T. (2019). Megaprojects–An anatomy of perception: Local people’s perceptions of megaprojects: The case of Suramadu, Indonesia. disP-The Planning Review, 55(2), 63-77.
World Bank, 2023. Agricultural projects matching search. Available at: https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/projects-list?os=0Accessed on March11, 2023.
Wysocki, R. K. (2011). Effective project management: traditional, agile, extreme. John Wiley & Sons
Zwikael, O., &Smyrk, J. 2012. A general framework for gauging the performance of initiatives to enhance organizational value. British Journal of Management, 23, 6–22
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ngochembo Gaston Gwemelang , Mbouh Vera Bekebang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
