DIR Hub — The agro-industrial foundation of PROAQUI

Location and land status

Secured, immediately operational land

The DIR Hub is located in the Dir municipality, Djérem department, Adamaoua Region, Republic of Cameroon. The plot granted by the Cameroonian State covers 5,380 hectares, dedicated to irrigated industrial agricultural production under center-pivot irrigation. The balance is allocated to industrial infrastructure, residential bases, environmental buffer zones (ecological corridors, grass strips) and land reserves for future extensions.

Site characterization — Phase 0

A concession characterized to international standard

Ahead of any industrial commitment, the Dir concession underwent a full topographic, pedological, hydric and climatic characterization, carried out by ICERD Cameroon on the basis of ALOS PALSAR satellite imagery (12.5 m), the WGS 1984 UTM33N geodesic reference and MINADER-sourced data. This field knowledge base drives the agronomic choices, the soil amendment plan and the management of the water resource.

Topography and land layout

The topographic survey confirms a main parcel of 5,380.51 hectares, bordered to the north by the Djérem river, on moderate relief ranging from 883 to 1,011 metres in altitude. A 218.56-hectare environmental buffer zone runs along the Djérem, providing an ecological corridor and bank protection. The parcel is subdivided into operating sub-blocks supporting 43 georeferenced soil sampling points and 14 water sampling points.

Agricultural land layout — Block F of Dir I

The concession forms Block F of Dir I within the "AGRO PARC" programme of the Plaine Centrale (Batchenga–Ntui–Yoko–Tibati–Dir–Ngaoundéré corridor). The agricultural surveying study generated the digital surface and terrain models (DSM/DTM) and divided the block into 16 operating sub-blocks, totalling 5,406.8 hectares, named after the neighbouring localities.

Climate — 31 years of data (1994–2025)

Climate analysis over three decades (NASA POWER source) confirms a favorable highland tropical climate for rain-fed and irrigated agricultural intensification, with a marked rainy season from May to October. Annual rainfall of 1,578.8 mm and a mean temperature of 23.4 °C define the cropping window from 1 May to 30 September.

Soils — a characterized agronomic potential

The concession's soils are predominantly clayey (48 to 57% clay), acidic (pH 3.6 to 6.0) and rich in organic matter (3.9 to 5.1%, C/N ratio close to 18). They show a cation exchange capacity of 12 to 14 meq/100 g, but limited phosphorus availability and base saturation. Parametric evaluation (Khiddir method) ranks the lower zones (880–900 m) as suitable to moderately suitable for maize and soy. This diagnosis underpins a targeted amendment plan — liming and phosphate fertilization — built into the technical itinerary, complemented by organic fertilization from the aquaculture loop (recovered effluents).

Water resource — confirmed quality

The concession's surface waters are weakly mineralized freshwater (conductivity 19 to 27 µS/cm) of acceptable, low-risk bacteriological quality: complete absence of Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio and Staphylococcus, with controlled coliform loads. Organic-load indicators (COD 7 to 12 mg/L, BOD₅ 4 to 5 mg/L) remain low. This resource secures the water needs of irrigated agriculture and of the pole's infrastructure.

Phase 0 · Characterisation study

Block F hydric characterisation and parcelling study

Conducted in April 2026 (Volume 4), the Block F characterisation study documents the location and relief, land cover, hydric regime and parcel layout of the concession, based on satellite imagery (ALOS PALSAR, Sentinel-2) and georeferenced field surveys. The chapters and figures below present its main findings.

Chapter 1 — Location

Location and relief of Block F

Block F (Parcel F, in yellow) lies within the Central Plain, in the Bagodo agricultural post (Dir commune, Djérem department). It is bounded to the north by the Djérem river and accessed from National Road N°6 near the village of Sourma, on a plateau relief ranging from 883 to 1,011 m in elevation.

Chapter 2 — Characterisation

Land cover — 2026

Land-cover mapping relies on Sentinel-2 remote sensing (8 March 2026) and a supervised maximum-likelihood classification (ENVI 4.5 software), with an overall accuracy of 92.85% and a Kappa index of 0.88. Shrub savannah largely dominates, and nearly 93% of the area is suitable for agriculture.

Chapter 3 — Parcelling

Subdivision into 16 sub-blocks

The subdivision accounts for soil type, relief (contour lines), the hydrographic network and existing tracks, in line with the layout proposed by MINADER (at least 100 ha per parcel). Block F is divided into 16 sub-blocks and 54 parcels, totalling 5,406.8 hectares, named after the neighbouring localities.