This study assesses adaptation strategies among farmers in Dschang, West Cameroon, confronting the degradation of lateritic soils characterized by low fertility, pronounced acidity (pH < 4.8), and accelerated erosion under climatic disturbances. Using a mixed methodology that includes quantitative surveys across 60 farms stratified by topography, soil diagnostics, and SAVI‑based mapping, we identify three key agro‑technical outcomes over 58.8 ha: (1) on summits, stone barriers (40 % adoption) reduce erosion by 60 %; (2) on mid‑slopes, terraces and hedgerows (25 % adoption) decrease runoff by 50 %; (3) in lowlands, organic amendments boost yields by 35 %. Paradoxically, farmers are abandoning proven techniques such as zaï and agroforestry in favour of intensive methods (mechanized ploughing, chemical fertilizers), a shift that exacerbates acidification and degradation. Our analysis reveals that this paradox stems not from inadequate local agronomic knowledge which is well‑adapted to the pedological context but from broader socio‑economic pressures: land‑tenure insecurity and the imperative of immediate yields. The study’s main contribution lies in its effort to identify synergies and actionable policy solutions that address the concrete difficulties farmers face in maintaining resilient systems amid economic and tenure precariousness. We argue that lateritic resilience depends on hybrid governance that integrates scientific innovations (modelling, mycorrhizae, biofertilizers) with the Yemba Kosmos the sacred worldview that regards soil as “ancestral blood.” To translate this insight into practice, we propose the innovative “Ntsu Contracts” mechanism, which operationalizes the KCP (Kosmos-Corpus-Praxis) framework by converting the Yemba cosmovision into a legal instrument that ties land‑use security to ecological regeneration. This approach demonstrates how sacred values can interact with, and be reinforced by, economic and legal instruments. The Dschang dataset provides a transferable framework for Central African lateritic agroecosystems, advocating for institutional models that break the soil-degradation-climate-vulnerability cycle and reconcile short‑term productivity with long‑term resilience.
Etengola et al. (Sun,) studied this question.