Agricultural Project Management and Rural Development

The crucial role of agriculture in Cameroon¿s strive towards emergence has been emphasized in Cameroon Vision 2035 which seeks to increase economic growth and eradicate poverty by addressing the food crisis and making Cameroon the breadbasket of the central African region. In this light, the government of Cameroon with the support of donor agencies introduced a number of agricultural projects which are meant to support its rural development process. A classic example is the Agricultural competiveness Improvement project (PACA) which was introduced in 2010 in many parts of the country, including Mezam Division. Although there are conflicting views as indicated by organizational reports on the projects contribution to rural development, it is important to prove from a scientific standpoint the role played by the project in the rural development process of Mezam Division. Using a random sampling of 100 farmers (5 per group) drawn from 20 out of the 45 existing PACA supported Common Initiative Groups (CIG), complemented by secondary data, the student t-test was employed to analyze the role of PACA.