Smoking ovens help internally displaced fish processors in Cameroon - ITREALMS

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Sitting on the Logone River in the Far North region of Cameroon, right on the border of Chad, Logone-Birni has experienced more than its share of conflict and upheaval. The Boko Haram insurgency, which has been affecting the Far North region for nearly a decade, meant that many have suffered violence and disruption.

But in December 2021, violent clashes erupted once again. This time the conflict arose between inland fishers, ethnic herders and farmers over limited water resources, a result of climate change and declining rainfall. Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee for their lives.

For years, fishers, herders and farmers have relied on the same river and other inland water bodies for their livelihoods. But conflict over these increasingly scarce water resources has forced fish processor, Fadmee, and many others to leave their homes.

Fadmee recalls, "I lost everything: my activities, my equipment for smoking fish which I had to sell. Everything was destroyed, even my house.’’

Despite her personal losses, when the conflict died down a couple of months later, Fadmee was relieved to return to her hometown of Honkol in early 2022. She joined many others who were looking to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Supporting the reintegration and economic recovery of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provided 18 Chorkor fish smoking ovens and capacity training in sustainable fish smoking methods to fishers in several villages of Logone-Birni.