NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Three Kenyan businesses are among the 15 winners of this year's Switch Africa Green Seed Awards, announced on Sunday July 23  in New York, USA.

Banana-stem bags, charcoal briquettes from coconut waste and essential oils produced by local communities are among the 15 winners of this year's Switch Africa Green Seed Awards.

Roy Kanai of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said Kenya's Horizon Business Ventures was feted for training and employing seed collection groups to process and market seed oil to local and international cosmetics companies.

Another Kenyan firm, ICOSEED which  turns leftover banana stems into fabric for bags, purses and table mats and helps farmers earn money by producing the fabric and sewing of products was also recognised.

Kencoco, also from Kenya, produces and sells charcoal briquettes from recycled coconut waste and charcoal dust, and resells clean cooking stoves. The products are a low-cost alternative to environmentally damaging fuels such as firewood, kerosene and wood charcoal.

The results were announced yesterday during the High-Level Political Forum in New York.

The SEED awards are part of a global programme that recognizes innovative, environmentally friendly start-ups in developing countries, and helps them grow their businesses and lead by example.

Founded in 2002 by the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the SAG-SEED Award provides winners with tailored business and financial advice, help with marketing and publicity, and introductions to funding bodies, policy makers and other avenues of support.

Winners also join a network of more than 200 previous SAG-SEED alumni from 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Kanai said the 15 winning enterprises were selected by an independent Jury of international experts out of more than 300 applications. Their activities cover agriculture, waste management, energy, manufacturing, biodiversity conservation and tourism.

Other winners include GCCoffee in Uganda which buys coffee at a premium, then sells it at a price that can cover a donation to the organization Conservation Through Public Health.

Uganda's Masupa Enterprises's briquettes are made from leaves, paper, fruit peels and other waste, and sold together with affordable cook stoves.


Coopérative Sahel Vert encourages the generation and use of clean biogas and organic fertiliser by constructing and maintaining biodigesters in rural areas.

This helps the environment and the sale of surplus agricultural production and organic fertilisers provides extra income.

Lagazel in Burkina Faso makes and sells sustainable solar lamps for households without electricity. Local production provides jobs and solar lamps fight climate change and make for healthier living conditions.

WASHKing in Ghana produces, installs biodigester toilets out of eco-friendly materials for low-income urban households. They also provide training on how to use them and an after-sales services.

Ekasi Energy in South Africa, produces biomass cooking fuel and clean cooking appliances for informal settlements with little or no grid power. These reduce health threats caused by burning wood, charcoal and paraffin, which are usually used for cooking.

Themba Phakama, also of South Africa, is a voluntary association of informal waste pickers providing tricycles and safety gear to its members. The tricycles are used as an alternative to the stolen shopping used by many informal waste pickers.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - A coalition of civil society in Cameroon known as “Cameroon Climate Change Working Group” is pushing for the adoption of climate change legislation in the country as a viable tool to promote and ensure climate justice.

The Climate Change working Group says bringing attention to the growing abuse of agro-giants in vulnerable communities, including how big companies  are influencing governments’ environment policies and threatening to undermine the wellbeing of these communities especially in rural areas are potentially devastating and far-reaching for both the people and the environment.

The civil society say they are set to lobby members of parliament and senate to push for the establishment of a bill that will put laws in place to make climate change a high-priority for the current government and future governments to come.

“We are identifying priority areas for legislative initiative for climate change and also looking at some quality legislative response to climate change,” noted Eugene Nforngwa of Bio-resource and Development Centre at the opening of a one day interested partners’ reflection on climate legislation in Cameroon.

The workshop held under the coordination of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA-Cameroon held on July 7, 2017 at Centre Jean XIII Mvolye in Yaounde.

According to Augustin Njamnshi of the Cameroon chapter of PACJA, the world will be tackling climate change on many fronts, and by creating a national and international legal framework for action, development actors can at least ensure there are structures in place to support this fight.

“In close collaboration with local law makers, experts and civil society stakeholders are seeking to provide hands-on assistance to create climate legislation in particular and other climate policy frameworks whether this is an overarching climate law or an amendment to existing legislation that effectively protects human rights and livelihood,” Augustine Njamnshi said.

He noted that in many African countries people still relied heavily on the immediate environment for their livelihood and have subsequently become particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

“We need safeguards to ensure that legislative responses are pro-poor, equitable and the results of a transparent, participatory and inclusive process. An insufficient of domestic legal expertise and resources may further hinder the development adequate legislation,” Njamnshi noted.

The experts recalled that a Presidential decree of 2009 established the National Climate Change Observatory (ONACC) as a national legal implementing body of climate change policies.

The structure places under the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development that supervises and ensure the overall co-ordination of climate change activities and policies within the country.

Accordingly the organs has as responsibilities  to establish relevant climate indicators for monitoring environmental policy carry out prospective analyses to provide a vision on climate change,  provide weather and climate data to all sectors concerned and to develop annual climate balance of Cameroon.

It also has as role to educate and promote studies on the identification of indicators, impacts and risks of climate change, collect, and provide policy makers, national and international organisations information on climate change in Cameroon and initiate activities to promote awareness on and provide information to prevent climate change, serve as operational instrument in the context of other activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions among others.

Unfortunately the above structure is still to go fully operational, translating the absence of a strong political drive backed by legislation.

Cameroon like many other countries in the world need a tailored approach, reflecting the specific needs and circumstances of jurisdiction, they noted.

KRIBI, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Michael Wakam stood beside a palm tree in a bushy area in Kribi in the South region of Cameroon and looked dejectedly at the farm land in front of him that was once his.

“It starts from here right over there where you see that palm tree. From there, you move to the right extending to the middle of that building right up to where were are standing” he said showing a vast piece of land which he claimed was grabbed from him by a Chinese company commercial cultivation of rice and cassava.

“We agreed that the land will end right there in the middle of that tree but I came and discovered that they have extended to this level. They have encroached my land almost by one hectare. This is wrong and illegal” he said boiling with anger.

Michael’s story is familiar across Cameroon where locals continue to dispute land with International companies especially Chinese companies.

In September 2015, neighbouring communities of the Lokoundjé and Kribi II subdivisions living close to the farms of Hévéa du Cameroun (Hévécam), a sister company of Chinese group Sinochem International addressed a memorandum to the Cameroonian government in which they accused the company of the of grabbing farming lands, stepping beyond the limits of some of its land concessions. A situation which, according to them, deprived them of a livelihood generally provided by agricultural activities on the lands under dispute.  

“Government remained mute to our complaints and the land grabbing continued. This is 2017, two years after the memorandum and nothing has changed” said Michae. “We suspect that they bribed government officials to stay quiet” he added.

Company officials denied the allegations and stressed that the land was acquired from the indigenes in strict respect of the Cameroonian law.

“What always happens is that, villagers usually get excited and confused when this companies come with huge sums of money to buy and develop their land. They only realized that they did not bargain well when the companies start operating” said Nelson Ndi, a Cameroonian working with Camco, a Chinese company that deals in agricultural and construction machinery.

According to two studies carried out separately by Land Matrix, the global watchdog on large scale land acquisitions, and Deborah Brautigam, Director of China Africa Research Initiative at John Hopkins University in the USA, Cameroon is one of the top 10 African countries that have sold the most lands to Chinese agricultural investments.

With 10,120 hectares of lands sold to the Chinese company Shaanxi Land Reclamation General Corporation (operating under the name IKO), to farm maize and rice in the Center region of the country (Nanga Ebola and Ndjoré), Cameroon, Ethiopia and Mozambique have some of the most important Chinese investments in agriculture on the Continent. Cameroon however comes far behind Zimbabwe that sold 100,000 hectares to the Chinese company CWE to farm maize.

Way Forward

“We are thinking of organizing a solid resistance to these land grabbers and demonstrate our resolve to keep our lands. We do not care what happens” said Michael. A move that will certainly end up in violence and probably loss of lives.

The Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Arts (CCIMA) has proposed a more sustainable measure to settle the crisis which will possibly not please strong opponents of land grabbing by agro-industrial companies.

The President of the Chamber Christophe Eken, has exhorted the government to carry out a “land reform, to facilitate access to land ownership for investors, especially in the agro-industrial sector”. For businessmen, this reform is to be considered as a “priority”, if the government wants to “increase the competitiveness of the Cameroonian economy”.

Government is yet to react. The request comes in a context marked by civil society organisations blowing the whistle on the land grabbing operated by agro-industrial units, a practice which according to these NGOs, challenges the survival of neighboring communities.

KRIBI, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Michael Wakam stood beside a palm tree in a bushy area in Kribi in the South region of Cameroon and looked dejectedly at the farm land in front of him that was once his.

“It starts from here right over there where you see that palm tree. From there, you move to the right extending to the middle of that building right up to where were are standing” he said showing a vast piece of land which he claimed was grabbed from him by a Chinese company commercial cultivation of rice and cassava.

“We agreed that the land will end right there in the middle of that tree but I came and discovered that they have extended to this level. They have encroached my land almost by one hectare. This is wrong and illegal” he said boiling with anger.

Michael’s story is familiar across Cameroon where locals continue to dispute land with International companies especially Chinese companies.

In September 2015, neighbouring communities of the Lokoundjé and Kribi II subdivisions living close to the farms of Hévéa du Cameroun (Hévécam), a sister company of Chinese group Sinochem International addressed a memorandum to the Cameroonian government in which they accused the company of the of grabbing farming lands, stepping beyond the limits of some of its land concessions. A situation which, according to them, deprived them of a livelihood generally provided by agricultural activities on the lands under dispute.  

“Government remained mute to our complaints and the land grabbing continued. This is 2017, two years after the memorandum and nothing has changed” said Michae. “We suspect that they bribed government officials to stay quiet” he added.

Company officials denied the allegations and stressed that the land was acquired from the indigenes in strict respect of the Cameroonian law.

“What always happens is that, villagers usually get excited and confused when this companies come with huge sums of money to buy and develop their land. They only realized that they did not bargain well when the companies start operating” said Nelson Ndi, a Cameroonian working with Camco, a Chinese company that deals in agricultural and construction machinery.

According to two studies carried out separately by Land Matrix, the global watchdog on large scale land acquisitions, and Deborah Brautigam, Director of China Africa Research Initiative at John Hopkins University in the USA, Cameroon is one of the top 10 African countries that have sold the most lands to Chinese agricultural investments.

With 10,120 hectares of lands sold to the Chinese company Shaanxi Land Reclamation General Corporation (operating under the name IKO), to farm maize and rice in the Center region of the country (Nanga Ebola and Ndjoré), Cameroon, Ethiopia and Mozambique have some of the most important Chinese investments in agriculture on the Continent. Cameroon however comes far behind Zimbabwe that sold 100,000 hectares to the Chinese company CWE to farm maize.

Way Forward

“We are thinking of organizing a solid resistance to these land grabbers and demonstrate our resolve to keep our lands. We do not care what happens” said Michael. A move that will certainly end up in violence and probably loss of lives.

The Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Arts (CCIMA) has proposed a more sustainable measure to settle the crisis which will possibly not please strong opponents of land grabbing by agro-industrial companies.

The President of the Chamber Christophe Eken, has exhorted the government to carry out a “land reform, to facilitate access to land ownership for investors, especially in the agro-industrial sector”. For businessmen, this reform is to be considered as a “priority”, if the government wants to “increase the competitiveness of the Cameroonian economy”.

Government is yet to react. The request comes in a context marked by civil society organisations blowing the whistle on the land grabbing operated by agro-industrial units, a practice which according to these NGOs, challenges the survival of neighboring communities.