The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved an €81.2 million loan to support agro-industrial development and strengthen climate resilience in northern Cameroon.
The financing will support the Programme for the Development of Agro-Industry in the North: Construction of Multi-purpose Hillside Dams (PDAS-1), a flagship initiative designed to improve sustainable access to water in the North and Far North regions while enhancing the resilience of local communities to climate change.
The programme has a total cost of €88.74 million, with the Government of Cameroon contributing €7.54 million.
At the heart of the project is the construction of multifunctional hillside dams to provide reliable water supplies for agriculture and livestock. The investment is expected to increase agricultural productivity, improve farmers' and pastoralists' year-round access to water, boost household incomes, create jobs, reduce conflicts over natural resources, and expand access to socio-economic services.
The project also includes climate adaptation measures, such as installing hydrometeorological stations, tree planting and the creation of community forests, to strengthen environmental sustainability and improve communities' resilience to climate-related shocks.
PDAS-1 is the first phase of a broader programme that will pave the way for a large-scale agro-industrial development in northern Cameroon. A second phase is planned to mobilise water resources by constructing large multi-purpose dams with a combined storage capacity of about 500 million cubic metres, thereby enabling the irrigation of more than 40,000 hectares of agricultural land.
"Through this programme, the African Development Bank is supporting Cameroon in realising its agro-industrial potential, creating jobs, strengthening communities' climate resilience, and attracting private investment to advance import substitution and strengthen the country's food sovereignty," said Léandre Bassolé, Director General of the African Development Bank Group for Central Africa and Country Manager for Cameroon.
The programme addresses the growing water insecurity in the North and Far North regions, where climate change is intensifying food insecurity and disrupting livelihoods. In recent years, heavy rainfall has caused recurrent flooding, damaging infrastructure, disrupting education and economic activities, and displacing more than 275,000 people across the Lake Chad basin. In 2024 alone, flooding affected more than three million people.
