The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) stands as Cameroon’s foremost bilateral financial partner, overseeing an active portfolio exceeding 622.8 billion FCFA spread across 51 distinct projects. While this investment volume is undoubtedly substantial, a closer examination of its sectoral distribution for 2025 raises critical questions. A significant 44.2% of these funds are channeled into infrastructure and urban development, yet a mere 1.7% is allocated to agriculture and food security – a sector Yaoundé has explicitly identified as central to its import-substitution strategy.
The figures paint a clear picture. As of December 31, 2024, the AFD group’s portfolio in Cameroon surpassed 594 billion FCFA, representing the largest share of the approximately 1705.4 billion FCFA committed across Central Africa. By 2025, this commitment had further escalated to around 622.8 billion FCFA, encompassing 51 projects. Of these, 47 are directly managed by the AFD, with the remaining four overseen by Expertise France, according to the group’s activity report. The financial breakdown among the group’s entities reveals 574.4 billion FCFA for the AFD itself, 40.5 billion FCFA for Proparco (its private sector financing arm), and over 7.8 billion FCFA for Expertise France.
Beyond the impressive overall sum, the sectoral allocation provides valuable insight. In 2025, infrastructure and urban development projects absorbed the largest portion, capturing 44.2% of the group’s commitments. Financing for private financial institutions followed, accounting for 35.9%. Governance initiatives received 6.8%, while education, training, and employment secured 6.4%. In stark contrast, agriculture and food security were allocated just 1.7%, water and sanitation 2.2%, and the productive sector 2.9%.
Infrastructure: a deliberate and historically consistent choice
The pronounced focus on infrastructure is not coincidental; it aligns with a long-standing rationale and addresses genuine needs. The AFD has maintained a presence in Cameroon since 1960, and the nation has historically been one of the primary recipients of its funding in Africa, with average annual commitments nearing 150 billion FCFA since 2002. The flagship project for 2025 perfectly exemplifies this strategic direction.
On January 21, five financing agreements totaling 175.5 million euros were formally signed at the Ministry of Economy. The most significant of these was dedicated to the Douala and Yaoundé Flood Control Program (PLIDY), supported by a sovereign loan of 150 million euros. This initiative aims to mitigate the recurrent flooding impacting the country’s two major urban centers, with a long-term goal of substantially reducing the vulnerability of both populations and essential infrastructure. This single project alone is equivalent to nearly five times the entire three-year budget the Cameroonian government recently earmarked for revitalizing its wheat sector. The AFD has also backed the Regional Capitals program, funded through the C2D mechanism, designed to modernize urban infrastructure in five secondary cities, alongside the Sporcap initiative to enhance access to sports facilities.
Agriculture remains on the periphery
It is in the agricultural sector that the funding disparity becomes most striking. The Cameroonian government has enshrined food sovereignty as a core pillar of its National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (SND30). The Integrated Agro-Pastoral and Fisheries Import-Substitution Plan (PIISAH) 2024-2026 has committed 1,500 billion FCFA to reduce reliance on imports of rice, wheat, palm oil, and other staple commodities. Within this national strategic context, the AFD’s 1.7% allocation to agriculture and food security in 2025 raises serious concerns.
This minimal share stands in sharp contrast to the institution’s activities in other nations. Between 2018 and 2024, Proparco successfully doubled its annual financing in Africa, mobilizing over 7.6 billion euros (approximately 1.2 billion per year), specifically targeting infrastructure, agriculture, food security, financial systems, and essential services. These continent-wide priorities, however, do not appear to translate with the same intensity into the Cameroonian portfolio. Despite this, there are robust precedents within Cameroon itself. The AFD previously supported 8,000 productive projects through the ACEFA program, which reached 260,000 agricultural holdings and funded micro-projects across cereals, livestock, agro-processing, and commercialization sectors.
The program’s consolidation phase now targets one million Cameroonian family farms by 2035, recognizing that these two million family farms are responsible for nearly 80% of national agricultural output. While these achievements are significant, their budgetary weight within the 2025 portfolio remains marginal when compared to the large-scale urban development projects.
Sovereign loans dominate the financial landscape
An examination of the financial instruments employed sheds further light on the portfolio’s structure. In 2025, sovereign loans constituted 33.9% of commitments, followed by senior loans at 23.2%, C2D at 16.2%, and guarantees at 12.6%. Grants, which are non-reimbursable and ideally suited for social impact projects without immediate financial returns (such as in agriculture), accounted for only 6.3% of the total. This financial architecture operates on its own logic. Major infrastructure projects are naturally conducive to sovereign loans, as they generate tangible assets that can secure repayment.
Agricultural projects, conversely, often involve dispersed populations, uncertain yields, and extended return horizons – conditions less compatible with traditional debt instruments. The relatively small proportion of grants within the portfolio may thus partially explain the comparative underfunding of the agricultural sector. Across Central Africa, during the period under review, 64% of AFD’s commitments were directed towards infrastructure and development projects.
Cameroon, as the region’s primary recipient, accurately mirrors this continental orientation. This prompts a crucial question: does Yaoundé actively choose this distribution, or is it a consequence of its negotiations with its funding partner?
SND30 and AFD: seeking strategic alignment
The SND30 meticulously outlines targets for structural transformation, including reducing food imports, fostering agro-industry, and enhancing local value creation. However, the operational logic of a donor primarily utilizing sovereign loans tends to favor high-visibility urban projects – such as roads, drainage systems, and public facilities – over agricultural value chains, which demand years of widespread support before yielding measurable outcomes.
