sustainability Article Urban Expansion and the Dynamics of Farmers’ Livelihoods: Evidence from Bamenda, Cameroon Akhere Solange Gwan 1 and Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi 2,3,* 1 Department of Geography and Planning, The University of Bamenda, Bambili 00237, Cameroon;
[email protected] 2 Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Technische Universität Dresden, 01737 Tharandt, Germany 3 Department of Geography, The University of Bamenda, Bambili 00237, Cameroon * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 12 June 2020; Accepted: 14 July 2020; Published: 18 July 2020 Abstract: There is growing interest in the need to understand the link between urban expansion and farmers’ livelihoods in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Cameroon. This paper undertakes a qualitative investigation of the effects of urban expansion on farmers’ livelihoods in Bamenda, a primate city in Cameroon. Taking into consideration two key areas—the Mankon–Bafut axis and the Nkwen Bambui axis—this study analyzes the trends and effects of urban expansion on farmers’ livelihoods with a view to identifying ways of making the process more beneficial to the farmers. Maps were used to determine the trend of urban expansion between 2000 and 2015. Twelve farmers drawn from the target sites were interviewed, while three focus group discussions were conducted. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze perceptions of the effects and coping strategies of farmers to urban expansion. Using the livelihoods approach, farmers’ livelihoods repertoires and portfolios were analyzed for the periods before and after urban expansion. Between 2000 and 2015, the surface area for farmlands in Bamenda II and Bamenda III reduced from 3540 ha to 2100 ha and 2943 ha to 1389 ha, respectively.