## 2 Characterization of the Country's Climate, Agroecological Zones, and Production System  
Cameroon is a country located in the sub-equatorial region of Africa. Cameroon shares a boundary in the north with Chad, in the east with the Central African Republic, in the south with Gabon, and in the west with Nigeria (Figure 1). Cameroon lies between longitude 6\({}^{\circ}\)00\({}^{\prime}\) N and 16\({}^{\circ}\) N and latitude 1.65\({}^{\circ}\) E and 12\({}^{\circ}\)00\({}^{\prime}\) E. Cameroon is therefore located 6\({}^{\circ}\)00\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N and 12\({}^{\circ}\)00\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E. Because Cameroon exhibits all the major climates and vegetation of the continent as mountains, desert, rain forest, savannah grassland, and ocean coastal, it is sometimes described as \"Africa in miniature\". Cameroon can be divided into five agroecological zones (Figure 1) distinguishable by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. The climate varies with terrain, from tropical along the coast to semi-arid and hot in the north. The coastal belt is hot and humid; it includes some of the wettest places on earth, such as Debundscha, located at the base of Mt. Cameroon, which has an average annual rainfall of about 10,287 mm. Agriculture is the backbone of Cameroon's economy, employing 70% of its workforce and providing 44% of its gross domestic product and 30% of its export revenue. Cameroon produces several agricultural commodities for export and domestic consumption. The most important of these, which vary by agroecological zone (see Table 1), are cocoa, coffee, cotton, banana, rubber, palm oil, sugarcane, tobacco, tea, pineapple and peanuts for cash crops, and plantains, cassava, corn, millet, sorghum, yams, potatoes, sweet potatoes, dry beans, and rice for food crops. Animal husbandry is practiced throughout the country and is particularly important in the northern region. Estimates of milk production by FAO relate to net milk production from cows, sheep, goats, etc. [24]. Cattle constitute the primary source of milk and meat for the population. Production depends largely on the traditional pastoralists who rely almost exclusively on native pastures to meet the needs of their animals.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline
**Agroecological Zones (AEZs)** & **Main Crops and Animal Production** \\ \hline Sudano-Sahelian (AEZ 1) & Maize, millet–sorghum, rice, cowpea, soybean, onion, sesame, fruits, cotton, cattle, and small ruminants \\ High Guinea Savanna (AEZ 2) & Maize, yam, cassava, sweet potatoes, rice, cotton, cattle, pig, small ruminants, and poultry birds \\ Western Highlands (AEZ 3) & Maize, beans, potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, vegetables, coffee, pig, poultry, cattle, small ruminants, and fisheries \\ Mono-modal Humid Forest (AEZ 4) & maize, vegetables, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, fruits, poultry, pig, poultry birds, small, ruminants, and fisheries \\ Bimodal Humid Forest (AEZ 5) & Plantain, cassava, banana, maize, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, cocoa, oil palm, rubber, coffee, maize, cocoa, oil palm, fruits, poultry, pig, fisheries, and small ruminants \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Major crops cultivated and animal species reared in each agroecological zone.