Fighting human-wildlife conflicts: VoNat tests ginger, citrus to end elephant raids on crops around Mount Cameroon.

On Tuesday August 12, 2026, Buea-based conservation group, Voice of Nature, VoNat, offered them a different weapon in managing and fighting the scourge of elephant attacks on their farms, with the donation of ginger seeds, citrus seedlings, and a new idea called ‘elephant-smart farming’ to curb the phenomenon of elephant attacks.

This was the key activity during an event in West Coast Subdivision, marking the 2026 edition of World Elephant Day, under the theme ‘Be More like an Elephant’.

During the ceremony, VoNat launched a pilot project in Bakingili to test whether crops that elephants dislike and thorny natural barriers can break the cycle of conflict between people and wildlife, while keeping farmers in business.

The logic, according to Ndimuh Bertrand Shancho, Founder and Executive Director of VoNat, is simple; elephants raid what they like to eat, so the conservation organisation is betting that the elephants will avoid what they hate, thus helping the farmers. 

“We began looking for alternative crops after farmers abandoned fields because of continuous elephant destruction. Ginger is generally not attractive to the elephant,” he said. 

To complement ginger, VoNat distributed 1,000 citrus planting materials, lemon and other thorny varieties to serve as living fences around farms as they mature. The citrus, Shancho explained, could form a natural barrier that elephants are reluctant to cross.

The initiative targets 20 farmers in the pilot phase, with plans to scale to over 50 if it works. Beneficiaries received both seeds and seedlings, plus hands-on training in nursery preparation, soil tilling, ridging, and weed control and soil management. Farmers were told ginger takes about eight to nine months to mature, and that adding soil after one or two months boosts yield.

The first phase of the distribution, according to VoNat, is a pilot phase that if it works, will be scaled up in other communities. 

This initiative is a welcome relief for most denizens of the community because more than 80 percent of Bakingili residents depend on farming. Shancho noted that when elephants destroy a field, they destroy a family’s income.

Besingi Johnson, a Bakingili farmer, explained that in 2020, he lost an estimated 30,000 plantings on a 10-hectare farm to elephants.   

“…my loss was about 7.8 million FCFA. It happened after I had invested heavily in labour and inputs. I struggled with loans and it took me years to recover,” he said. 

Thus, Besingi welcomed the ginger and citrus project, but said farmers with large farms still need help with expensive barriers like barbed wire. 

“I hope these new crops will discourage elephants and also give us products we can sell so we can go back to farming,” he said.

Malatia Jerome, another farmer, called the donation a long-standing need and pledged to tend the seedlings with the same care used to obtain them. 

Asumthaline Elonge, on her part, said ginger could provide both food and income, and she plans to reclaim overgrown farmland to plant it. 

VoNat says the project is about coexistence, not confrontation, thus, beyond the donation, VoNat team members sensitised farmers on safety measures to adopt when encountering elephants. To ensure the success of the project, a WhatsApp group will be created for monthly updates from farmers, while VoNat staff will visit every two months to monitor growth, collect data and provide technical support.

The approach fits into VoNat’s broader safe system model for human-elephant coexistence: creating safe spaces for both communities and elephants, while promoting the sustainable use of shared forest.

The Bakingili event was part of Mount Cameroon National Park’s 4th World Elephant Day celebration, with Elvis Tetuh Tendong, head of the park’s Collaborative Management Unit in Debunscha, saying the location was chosen because of years of complaints about elephant-related crop destruction. 

Ateba Esame Alexis, South West Regional Chief of Service for Wildlife and Protected Areas, said government and conservation partners have put in place rapid-response mechanisms to manage elephants when they move close to communities.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3881 of Monday August 17, 2026