The French Development Agency (AFD) remains Cameroun’s top bilateral partner, with an active portfolio exceeding 622.8 billion FCFA spread across 51 projects. Yet behind these impressive figures lies a striking sectoral imbalance. In 2025, 44.2% of funds flowed into infrastructure and urban development, while agriculture and food security—cornerstones of Yaoundé’s import-substitution strategy—received just 1.7%.
Infrastructure dominates AFD’s 2025 spending
At the end of 2024, the AFD’s active portfolio in Cameroun stood at over 594 billion FCFA, the largest share of the roughly 1.7 trillion FCFA committed across Central Africa. By 2025, this had grown to 622.8 billion FCFA, distributed across 51 initiatives—47 led by AFD itself and four by Expertise France. The breakdown is clear: 574.4 billion FCFA from AFD, 40.5 billion from Proparco (its private-sector arm), and 7.8 billion from Expertise France.
Sectoral allocation reveals a strong tilt toward large-scale projects. Infrastructure and urban development command 44.2% of commitments, followed by private financial institutions at 35.9%, governance at 6.8%, and education, training, and employment at 6.4%. Agriculture and food security trail far behind at 1.7%, water and sanitation at 2.2%, and productive sectors at 2.9%.
Urban development takes priority
The AFD’s long-standing focus on infrastructure is no coincidence. Since 1960, Cameroun has been one of the agency’s top beneficiaries in Africa, with annual commitments averaging 150 billion FCFA since 2002. The 2025 flagship project underscores this priority. In January, five financing agreements totaling 175.5 million euros were signed, including a sovereign loan of 150 million euros for the Programme de lutte contre les inondations à Douala et Yaoundé (PLIDY). This initiative targets flood risks in the country’s two largest cities, aiming to reduce long-term vulnerability for both populations and infrastructure. Alone, this project accounts for nearly five times the triennial budget Cameroun’s government recently allocated to reviving its wheat sector.
The AFD also backs the Capitales Régionales programme—funded via the Debt Reduction-Development Contract (C2D)—which modernizes urban infrastructure in five secondary cities, and the Sporcap initiative to improve access to sports facilities.
Agriculture struggles for funding despite national priorities
Cameroun’s Stratégie nationale de développement 2020-2030 (SND30) positions food sovereignty as a pillar of economic transformation. The Plan intégré d’import-substitution agropastoral et halieutique (PIISAH) 2024-2026 commits 1.5 trillion FCFA to cutting reliance on rice, wheat, palm oil, and other staples. Yet AFD’s 2025 allocation of just 1.7% to agriculture and food security raises questions.
This stands in stark contrast to the agency’s broader African strategy. Between 2018 and 2024, Proparco doubled its annual financing, mobilizing over 7.6 billion euros—about 1.2 billion per year—across infrastructure, agriculture, food security, financial systems, and essential services. While AFD has supported 8,000 productive projects in Cameroun through the ACEFA programme, touching 260,000 farms and financing microprojects in cereals, livestock, agro-processing, and marketing, the 2025 budget remains heavily skewed toward visible urban initiatives.
The ACEFA programme now aims to consolidate support for one million Cameroonian farms by 2035. With smallholder farms producing nearly 80% of the country’s agricultural output, these projects demonstrate tangible impact—yet their share in the 2025 portfolio remains marginal compared to urban megaprojects.
Sovereign loans shape priorities
Financial instruments tell another part of the story. In 2025, sovereign loans accounted for 33.9% of commitments, followed by senior loans at 23.2%, C2D at 16.2%, and guarantees at 12.6%. Grants—which are non-repayable and ideal for social impact projects like agriculture—made up just 6.3% of the total. This structure favors large infrastructure projects that generate tangible, revenue-generating assets, while agricultural initiatives—often involving dispersed populations, uncertain yields, and long payback periods—struggle to fit this model.
Central Africa as a whole reflects this continental trend, with 64% of AFD commitments directed toward infrastructure and urban development. As Cameroun’s largest regional recipient, it mirrors this orientation. Is Yaoundé driving this allocation, or is it the result of negotiations with its development partner? The question deserves scrutiny.
Two strategies in search of alignment
The SND30 sets clear targets: reducing food imports, boosting agro-industry, and creating local added value. Yet a lender whose primary tools are sovereign loans naturally favors high-visibility urban projects—roads, drainage, and equipment—over diffuse agricultural value chains that require years of patient support before yielding measurable results. Bridging this gap may require rethinking financing instruments to better support the sectors Cameroun deems strategic.