YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Fragmented agricultural, land, forestry, environmental and trade policies are holding back the wider adoption of agroecology across the Congo Basin, leaving successful farming models largely confined to pilot projects.

The issue was highlighted during the Second Congo Basin Convening on Agroecology held in Yaoundé in August 2026, where government representatives, experts and civil society organisations called for stronger regional coordination to support sustainable farming and protect the basin’s ecosystems.

The resulting Yaoundé Declaration 2026 argues that the Congo Basin cannot be managed effectively through isolated national policies. Cross-border trade corridors, timber and charcoal markets, mining, energy and infrastructure development, pastoral movements, displacement and shared river systems all influence the region’s environmental and agricultural future.

Mohamed Abakar, Head of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition at the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), said agricultural, land, trade, environmental and fiscal policies in several countries remain insufficiently aligned.

He noted that some governments continue to favour conventional agricultural inputs, including through subsidies, without providing comparable support for biofertilisers, biopesticides, indigenous seeds and ecosystem services.

ECCAS is calling for a regional framework covering agroecology and organic farming, with the approach integrated into the region’s Common Agricultural Policy and Regional Agricultural Investment Plan.

“Our ambition is not merely to change the way we produce; it is to build sustainable agrifood systems in the Central Africa region,” Abakar said.

Protecting Food Systems and Forests

The Congo Basin contains Africa’s largest continuous forest area and plays an important role in regulating the global climate. According to the World Bank’s Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem Accounts report, the region’s forests store more than 90.9 billion tonnes of carbon.

However, forest loss nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020 compared with the previous decade, with shifting agriculture, infrastructure development and increasing land pressures among the factors contributing to the decline.

Delegates at the Yaoundé meeting argued that agroecological farming can help farmers maintain incomes while improving biodiversity, strengthening food sovereignty and reducing pressure on natural ecosystems.

The declaration calls on African governments and the African Union Commission to explicitly include agroecology in the implementation of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP).

It proposes that national and regional agriculture and food-system investment plans establish specific agroecology objectives, indicators and budget allocations, with at least 30% of allocations across sectors shaping food systems dedicated to agroecology.

The delegates also called for simplified financing mechanisms that would allow farmer organisations, women, young people, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to access a greater share of climate, biodiversity and conservation funding.

Dr Million Belay, General Coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, called for at least 20% of climate, biodiversity and conservation finance flowing into the Congo Basin to reach these groups directly, while also supporting multi-year programmes rather than short-term projects.

Moving Beyond Pilot Projects

Several Central African countries have already introduced measures supporting agroecological practices. South Sudan is developing legislation aimed at protecting indigenous seeds, while Cameroon has established a national legal framework for sustainable agriculture.

The Central African Republic has developed a multi-stakeholder food systems platform supporting local biofertiliser production and soil restoration, while the Democratic Republic of Congo has established a dedicated agroecology service and national strategy.

The challenge now is connecting these national efforts through coordinated regional policies.

Abakar said ECCAS is progressively incorporating agroecology into its broader vision for a sustainable, resilient and competitive transformation of agrifood systems. The revised ECCAS Treaty already commits member states to harmonising agricultural policies, sharing research, developing joint training programmes and strengthening rural communities’ technical and economic capabilities.

For the Congo Basin, the push for agroecology is therefore increasingly being framed not simply as a change in farming practices, but as part of a wider regional strategy linking food production, farmer incomes, biodiversity protection, climate resilience and sustainable management of natural resources.