Impact of Agricultural Export on Economic Growth in Cameroon: Case of Banana, Coffee and Cocoa (Published)
The main objective of the present analysis is to explore and quantify the contribution of agricultural exports to economic growth in Cameroon. It employs an extended generalized Cobb Douglas production function model, using food and agricultural organization data and World Bank Data from 1975 to 2009. All variables were non stationary and of an order I (1), so the Cointegration test was conducted for long run equilibrium. All the variables confirmed cointegration and as such the conventional vector error correction model was estimated using the Engle and Granger procedure. The findings of the study show that the agricultural exports have mixed effect on economic growth in Cameroon. Coffee export and banana export has a positive and significant relationship with economic growth. On the other hand, cocoa export was found to have a negative and insignificant effect on economic growth. Base on our findings, it is recommended that policies aimed at increasing the productivity and quality of these cash crops should be implemented. Also additional value should be added to cocoa and coffee beans before exporting. When this is done, it will lead to a higher rate of economic growth in Cameroon
Keywords: Agricultural Export, Cameroon, Cointegration, Vector Error Correction Model, economic growth