(Ecofin Agency) - Anonymous firm for Cameroonian Rubber, Hévécam, is actually in conflict with the riparian communities of its plantations, in the districts of Lokoundjé and Kribi II located in the South. The announcement follows an emergency meeting organized by prefect of the Ocean department, and held in Kribi, to calm tensions between the two parties.

On one hand, Hévécam’s riparian communities blame the rubber producer of monopolizing arable lands, going beyond the limits of some of its concessions. This situation deprives locals from their livelihoods, since they mainly subsist on agricultural activities, the communities told the governmental daily.

On the other hand, Hévécam denounces an illegal occupation of the lands granted them by the state of Cameroon which it backed with the case where population of Elogbatindi occupied about 10 acres of its concessions and established palm oil and cocoa plantations. To resolve this issue, the government plans of effecting field visits.

Hévécam, agro-industrial firm having Sinochem International as its majority shareholder, is one of the two natural rubber producers (the second being Cameroon Development Corporation or CDC) of Cameroon. It currently has 22,000 acres of plantations and plans to extend these by an additional 18,000 acres which were provided by the government in 2012.