Commercial food production and territory construction in Central Africa

The concepts of commercial food production and territory are at the heart of this work and the Mifi department is the laboratory for analysis par excellence. The bean produced there is not the flagship crop of the region and how can it structure space and people in Mifi in a context of globalized territorial recomposition? Our presupposition is that the bean is the most commercial food crop. The strong peasant resilience that allows the development of food crops has at the same time favored the high production of beans, thanks mainly to endogenous technical innovations. The resulting landscape impact is also societal. This construction of the territory is more external in Africa, thanks to the dense networks of local markets and the ever-increasing demand from bordering countries and beyond. The assets and intrinsic values of the bean offer very favorable prospects and can make it a culture of identity for the Anglo-Bamilekes, because it is a niche culture supported by an ethnic trade and it is also a typical example of heritage production that is imposed on the urban kitchen.