RACINE: Resilient Agriculture for Climate, Investment, Nature and Equity

Cocoa and coffee farming in Cameroon is a major driver of deforestation in the Congo Basin, through slash-and-burn practices and plantation expansion. Erratic rainfall, drought and pests also threaten yields. Producers risk exclusion from EU markets under the EU Deforestation Regulation.

The project will shift cocoa and coffee farming towards deforestation-free and climate-resilient models. It will align policy with EU deforestation standards, deploy a traceability system and support municipal land-use plans that discourage farm expansion into forest. It will train cooperatives, municipalities and 2,000 agricultural advisors, and scale up the Cocoa and Coffee Development Fund's subsidy system. Farmers will receive e-voucher subsidies for inputs and agroforestry plans, a Community Window will co-finance municipal reforestation and watershed restoration, and independent verification will trigger results-based payments from the Central African Forest Initiative.

The project is GCF's first direct sovereign loan and first national direct access investment in Central Africa, made through Cameroon's Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development under the project-specific assessment approach. It paves the way for more ministries of finance to access GCF directly and supports GCF's commitment under the COP30 Belém Call to Action for Congo Basin Forests.