Investing in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire: hypotheses, evidence and policy implications

This paper presents empirical evidence to show how socioeconomic factors affect the adoption of and investment in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire. The analysis uses primary farm-level data collected in 2002 from a nationally representative sample of more than one thousand cocoa farmers. The study describes the status of the adoption of various chemical inputs and uses a multiplicative heteroscedastic Tobit model to identify and quantify the impact of the socioeconomic environment on the incentive to invest. The results generally show that farmer, household and village characteristics are all important in explaining the farmers’ decisions. The paper concludes by outlining a number of implications for strategic targeting of farmers and locations. These should serve as entry points for a successful diffusion of efficient pest, disease and soil management programs.Chemical input ; Tobit model ; Cocoa sector ; Socioeconomic factors ; Côte d’Ivoire

Economic analysis of fuelwood consumption in forest regions : Lessons from Cameroonians urban area

This paper aims at analyzing fuel consumption in households of forest zones, and showed fuelwood’s place as energy source in the region. The study is carried out in Cameroon and it is based on a survey done in 1996. A sample of 400 household from Yaounde, Mbalmayo and Ebolowa was used. The results obtained confirm the importance of fuelwood, in its different forms, as a source of energy in urban areas. This importance is more observed in less urbanized town, while the others sources of energy (kerosene, gas) have a spatial repartition which is contrary to the above. Finally, econometric analysis through estimation of Engel’s curves and calculation of income’s elasticities, exhibited negative link between income levels and fuelwood consumption.Fuelwood; income’s elasticity; Forest zones

Investing in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire: hypotheses, evidence and policy implications

This paper presents empirical evidence to show how socioeconomic factors affect the adoption of and investment in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire. The analysis uses primary farm-level data collected in 2002 from a nationally representative sample of more than one thousand cocoa farmers. The study describes the status of the adoption of various chemical inputs and uses a multiplicative heteroscedastic Tobit model to identify and quantify the impact of the socioeconomic environment on the incentive to invest. The results generally show that farmer, household and village characteristics are all important in explaining the farmers’ decisions. The paper concludes by outlining a number of implications for strategic targeting of farmers and locations. These should serve as entry points for a successful diffusion of efficient pest, disease and soil management programs

Analyse economique de la consommation du bois de feu en regions forestieres : Leçons des zones urbaines Camerounaises

This paper aims at analyzing fuel consumption in households of forest zones, and showed fuelwood’s place as energy source in the region. The study is carried out in Cameroon and it is based on a survey done in 1996. A sample of 400 household from Yaounde, Mbalmayo and Ebolowa was used. The results obtained confirm the importance of fuelwood, in its different forms, as a source of energy in urban areas. This importance is more observed in less urbanized town, while the others sources of energy (kerosene, gas) have a spatial repartition which is contrary to the above. Finally, econometric analysis through estimation of Engel’s curves and calculation of income’s elasticities, exhibited negative link between income levels and fuelwood consumption

Analyse economique de la consommation du bois de feu en regions forestieres : Leçons des zones urbaines Camerounaises

This paper aims at analyzing fuel consumption in households of forest zones, and showed fuelwood’s place as energy source in the region. The study is carried out in Cameroon and it is based on a survey done in 1996. A sample of 400 household from Yaounde, Mbalmayo and Ebolowa was used. The results obtained confirm the importance of fuelwood, in its different forms, as a source of energy in urban areas. This importance is more observed in less urbanized town, while the others sources of energy (kerosene, gas) have a spatial repartition which is contrary to the above. Finally, econometric analysis through estimation of Engel’s curves and calculation of income’s elasticities, exhibited negative link between income levels and fuelwood consumption

The forest-based farming system : highly diverse, annual and perennial systems under threat

African forest-based farming systems (FBFS) are the starting point for most humid zone farming systems; they exist only at low population densities and, depending on population growth, are a relatively short transition phase into more sedentary systems with higher levels of specialization. FBFS provide a wide range of food and non-food products for many of which no alternative sources exist. FBFS farmers are highly food secure yet poorly connected to markets and service providers, thus severely cash-constrained and suffering from a lack of financial, medical, educational and social services rendering families vulnerable and cut off from urban employment opportunities. Due to low labour input FBFS achieve relatively low crop yields yet they are productive because of their often high soil fertility; they draw heavily on the natural resource base for relatively low outputs. FBFS are heavily threatened by land-grabbing attempts of large-scale investors. Policies need to address human welfare and conservation / environmental protection issues in parallel with providing technical support to FBFS farmers without leading to a rapid transition into more productive yet less sustainable farming systems. Intensification and modernization of FBFS have not received sufficient attention from research and policy makers, yet are a potential way to maintain forest environments combined with agricultural production

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