Socio-Economic Impact of a Cocoa Integrated Crop and Pest Management Diffusion Knowledge Through a Farmer Field School Approach in Southern Cameroon

We focused on the Socio-Economic Evaluation of Farmer Field School Training on Integrated Pest Management in the humid forest region of Cameroon. The main objective was to assess the impact of training on integrated pest management (IPM) on cocoa farmer field school graduates. The results indicate that shade management, phytosanitary harvest, pruning, improved spraying practices and grafting of improved materials were adopted at the rate of 94, 93, 90, 66 and 35 % respectively, with the overall rate of adoption being 76 %. There was a 47 % reduction in the frequency of spraying fungicides and a 17 % reduction in the number of sprayers applied per treatment following the implementation of the training. Labour inputs increased significantly for pruning, phytosanitary harvest, and shade management but decreased for spraying. A partial budget analysis reveals that the IPM practices lowered overall costs of production by 11 % relative to previous practices. The poster presenting the synthesis of this work comprises a general introduction, a methodology and study area map, results and discussion which comprise two photographs of farmer field school activities, a graph and a table of different technical results, a short conclusion and recommendation.integrated pest management, farmer field school, adoption rate, Crop Production/Industries,

Constraints in Marketing of Agroforestry Products in the South West Region of Cameroon: The Case of Manyu Division

Cameroon’s South West region has great potentials in the production of Agroforestry products but production and marketing are done using rudimentary technologies, which make it difficult to sustain growing demand for the products in both domestic and international markets. Difficulties in production have been attributed to social, economic, environmental and other constraints which grossly affect production and marketing. The main objective of the study is to examine difficulties encountered by actors in Agroforestry activities and how these problems affect marketing and income generation in the study area. The study was carried out in eleven random selected villages producing agroforestry products while respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Data collected for the study were anaylsed through qualitative and quantative methods. According to this study, marketing of agroforestry products in Manyu Division and else where in Cameroon can only play a significant role in poverty alleviation, if government and other stalkholders could  provide an enabling enrivornment backed by packages of incentives and motivations. This will significantly minimise production and marketing  problems encountered by actors and stalkholders in the agroforestry value chain

Linking local people's perception of wildlife and conservation to livelihood and poaching alleviation : a case study of the Dja biosphere reserve, Cameroon

This Paper examines how people's livelihoods and perceptions of wildlife are related to self-reported poaching (here defined as commercial bushmeat hunting) in 25 villages at the northern buffer zone of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, East Cameroon. Using a six-point Likert scale questionnaire among 263 households interviewed form March to June 2017, the following hypothesis were tested: (1) Households with positive perceptions of wildlife are less involved in poaching; (2) Positive perceptions of wildlife are linked to sustainable livelihood improvement of households; and (3) Sustainable livelihood improvement of households leads to poaching alleviation. The study area has been the site since 2010 for a community-centered conservation Program that aims to improve local peoples livelihoods (through the creation of income sources based on cocoa-based agroforestry and Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) Valorization) and their perceptions of wildlife (mainly through awareness raising and wildlife education) and therefore divert them from poaching. The main findings of the study indicates that positive perceptions of wildlife are linked to lower levels of poaching. Similarly, positive perception of wildlife was positively related to Livelihood improvement of the respondents. However, livelihood improvement alone did not predict poaching alleviation though we reported a significant difference in poaching frequencies of cocoa and non-cocoa producers with the firsts less involved in poaching. The findings of this study recommend more holistic approaches of biodiversity conservation that integrate simultaneously perception and livelihood improvement

A gender analysis on the participation and choice of improved and local haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) by farmers in Cameroon

Men and women farmer participation and choice of variety could guide breeding and drive the adoption of different haricot bean varieties. Thus, understanding how gender influences participation and choice of bean cultivation and marketing is fundamental. The study sought to analyse how socio-cultural norms determine women and men, participation and choice of variety for cultivation and sale in Cameroon’s West region. A mixed-method was used in collecting data from men and women farmers in six subdivisions in the West region of Cameroon in 2019. Result reveals that women provide most of the labour on haricot bean production than men, who are more involved in selling to national and regional markets. Participation and role were driven by socio-cultural norms of what is expected of men and women in a society where women provide food and men income for household upkeep. Women preferred varieties that were less labour intensive and food taste for household consumption while men went for labour intensive as long as they were market-oriented and high yielding. Thus, breeders should develop varieties that are mostly preferred by women, which meet the market and household demand

Gender analysis of farmers’ perception of improved haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties in the West Region of Cameroon

The introduction of improved varieties of haricot bean has been viewed as a strategy to increase haricot bean production. Thus, recognising the perception of men and women of these varieties can contribute to increase production. The study sought to analyse farmers’ perception of improved haricot bean varieties in the West region of Cameroon. A mixed-method was used in collecting data from six sub-divisions in the West region to evaluate men and women farmers’ perception of improved varieties of haricot bean in 2019. Result reveals that farmer’s desirable attributes of improved haricot bean varieties qualities were related to the fact that it was high yielding, highly tasteful, had good grain quality and size, diseases and drought-tolerant as well as accepted in the market. On the other hand, farmers did, not like varieties that are difficult to harvest, susceptible to excess rains, late-maturing and have low market demands. Thus, varieties which are not resistant to biotic and abiotic stress with low market demand should undergo a product replacement strategy to meet the desired attributes of men and women farmers

Socio-Economic Impact of a Cocoa Integrated Crop and Pest Management Diffusion Knowledge Through a Farmer Field School Approach in Southern Cameroon

We focused on the Socio-Economic Evaluation of Farmer Field School Training on Integrated Pest Management in the humid forest region of Cameroon. The main objective was to assess the impact of training on integrated pest management (IPM) on cocoa farmer field school graduates. The results indicate that shade management, phytosanitary harvest, pruning, improved spraying practices and grafting of improved materials were adopted at the rate of 94, 93, 90, 66 and 35 % respectively, with the overall rate of adoption being 76 %. There was a 47 % reduction in the frequency of spraying fungicides and a 17 % reduction in the number of sprayers applied per treatment following the implementation of the training. Labour inputs increased significantly for pruning, phytosanitary harvest, and shade management but decreased for spraying. A partial budget analysis reveals that the IPM practices lowered overall costs of production by 11 % relative to previous practices. The poster presenting the synthesis of this work comprises a general introduction, a methodology and study area map, results and discussion which comprise two photographs of farmer field school activities, a graph and a table of different technical results, a short conclusion and recommendation