Abstract
Far from being the prerogative of the interconnection of railways, land, and sea linking Europe, Asia, and Africa, the new Silk Roads appear as one of the strategic levers through which China secures its African interests in raw materials and other natural resources. Its historical proximity to the global South in general and Africa, in particular, has led to the institutionalization of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, introduced in 2000. This chapter examines the transnational agricultural policies of China based on its quest for arable land in sub-Saharan Africa and its consequent strategic investments in the Cameroonian agricultural sector. It looks at Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centers (ATDCs) as transnational public policy tools which involve both workers and Chinese norms and representations. Specifically, the chapter examines the reactions of the Cameroonian workers in the Cameroon Agricultural Technology Application Center (CATAC) which is located in Nanga-Eboko, a small peri-urban city in the central region of Cameroon. Through confronting workers’ practices and Chinese norms and representations, the chapter puts forward the new forms of nationalism arising from the Chinese African agro-industrial sectors. The chapter implements a qualitative methodology based on in-depth focused group interviews and direct discussions with the local managers of the CATAC in Nanga-Eboko, Cameroon.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
See Official Document on the Chinese mission for the project of the Pilot Centre for the Application of Agricultural Technologies in Nanga-Eboko, Summary presentation of the SINO-CAM IKO demonstration farm of Nanga-Eboko, 14 December 2006.
- 3.
See Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Republic of Cameroon and the People’s Republic of China for the Construction by China of a Center for the Application of Agricultural Technologies in Cameroon.
- 4.
The purposes of the ATDCs are explained as follows (Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Agriculture, 2011): I. To serve China’s foreign strategy and promote bilateral relations with the recipient countries; II. To help increase grain production, improve agricultural technology, and enhance food security of the recipient countries; III. To provide a platform for Chinese companies to develop in Africa and promote China’s ‘Agricultural Going Out’ policy; IV. To build the ATDC into a base for agro-technology experiment and research, demonstration and extension, human resources training, and display.
- 5.
The Counterpart Director of CATAC of the Cameroonian side emits in essence that “everything that is proposed is refuted”, interview of 20/11/2020.
- 6.
We would like to point out that the specifications organizing the responsibilities of the Cameroonian and Chinese parties regarding the implementation of CATAC mention the year 2015 as the start of activities. Gold, according to the Counterpart Director of CATAC of Cameroonian party, “for the Chinese, the operationalization phase begins from 1 June 2014, when the first experts arrived at the Center” (Interview with the Cameroonian delegate of CATAC on 15/02/2020).
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Agoumé, É.M.B., Manga Edimo, R.M. (2022). China’s Agro-strategic Projection in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of the Installation of the Cameroon Agricultural Technology Application Center. In: Rajaoson, J., Edimo, R.M.M. (eds) New Nationalisms and China's Belt and Road Initiative. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08526-0_16
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