Commercialization of Cattle in the Urban Markets of Yaoundé, Center Region of Cameroon: Policy Implication for an Informal Activity

This article analyzes the functioning of the Yaoundé market through an analysis of the role of the public authorities in the functioning of the Yaoundé market, the types of economic actors involved in the commercial exchanges, the sources and the supply routes of the different marketed cattle breeds, The financial analysis of the actors involved and constraints to the development of this market through a survey of the various actors was carried out. Data was collected using a questionnaire administered to 121 respondents who were selected by the multi-stage random sampling technique. The analysis of the collected data revealed that the lifting of the health barrier established between the Far North and the Great South of Cameroon against the diseases of plague, trypanosomiasis and foot-and-mouth disease plays an essential role in the development of the Yaoundé markets. Lately, it has assumed a regional economic importance since it hosts not only the animals of North Cameroon but also those of the Central African Republic. Not according to their race or their geographical origin, the commercial value of the animals is appreciated according to their life weight, or their morphology. The financial analysis of the actors shows that this activity is profitable. However, the gross margin generated by the big butchers (52,700 CFA francs / beef) and the small butchers (43,500 CFA / leg of 64 kg) were the most interesting. Although the market has become a supply hub for some major cities of Cameroon (Douala) and the Central African Sub Region (Libreville and Malabo), it suffers from infrastructural difficulties and a lack of transfer of competence through decentralization