Far North: Farmers protest as Elephants Kill one, destroy plantations
Farmers in Kalfou, Mayo Danay division, Far North, region blocked National Road No. 12 on Monday morning, January 6, 2024. They used tree branches to erect barricades on the Yagoua-Maroua road, preventing the circulation of people and goods for several hours.
Carrying signs, they marched to express their anger after elephants destroyed their plantations and caused the death of one person during their invasion. Their placards included phrases such as, “We say stop to the wandering of elephants.” Gendarmerie teams arrived the scene and calmed down to situation.
The Senior Divisional Officer for Kalfou had previously banned protests related to the conflict between the local population and the elephants in an effort to maintain public order. However, this directive seemingly fell on deaf ears, as farmers organized a protest to voice their frustration over the extensive damage caused by the wandering elephants.
In December, 2024 elephants surprised a man in a village in this region, consuming his crops, but he escaped with minor injuries. Tragically, another individual was killed in the neighbouring Kar-Hay subdivision by elephants. Reports indicate that around ten people have lost their lives to elephant attacks in recent months in this part of the country.
Residents have condemned the authorities for their silence in light of these significant human and economic losses. The elephants, having nothing to eat due to months of drought, have been forced to leave their habitat in search of food. They wreak havoc, destroying everything in their path from fields to homes.
The consequences of the movements of these wild beasts further exacerbate the annual cereal deficit in this region, a situation worsened by the encroaching desert. In recent years, climate change has accelerated this process, pushing the Far North region of Cameroon into a state of almost constant food insecurity.
