Women, the backbone of cocoa production in Cameroon

How the EUDR could support this essential, invisible, and exploited workforce

In preparation for EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) implementation, the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) Cameroon and Fern have analysed the central role of women in Cameroon's cocoa sector, as well as the EUDR’s potential impacts on respect for their rights.

The study provides detailed documentation of the invisibility of women's work and the violence associated with it. It analyses land tenure insecurity, income inequalities, lack of access to information and training, male dynamics within cooperatives and the particular vulnerability of Indigenous women. 

It reveals the different lenses through which the EUDR can be perceived:

Seen from Brussels, the EUDR is primarily a value chain governance mechanism. Its traceability requirements go down to the plot level and requires certification of zero deforestation from a reference date, demonstration of legal land use, risk analysis conducted by operators, and enhanced border controls.

Seen from a village in central, southern, or eastern Cameroon, the reality is quite different. In these areas, cocoa is a cash crop, an economic safety net, and a symbol of social status. It shapes landscapes, power relations, and life trajectories. And in the shadow of this economy, women play a central but underestimated role. Gender inequalities are not just a social issue: they impact economic resilience at all levels because it influences productivity, sector resilience, and long-term competitiveness.

Understanding their realities is not a "good-to-have", it is a prerequisite for EUDR implementation to achieve its stated climate and social justice objectives, and or the economic resilience of countries and businesses who rely on this crop.

It concludes with recommendations to ensure that future EUDR implementation guarantees not only the protection of forests, but also the rights of women, particularly those of local communities and Indigenous Peoples. These include developing policy and regulatory levers on capacity-building, incentives and securing land rights.

Read the report

Categorías: Reports, EU Regulation on deforestation-free products, Cameroon