Postharvest practices and farmers’ perception of cocoa bean quality in Cameroon

Abstract

Background: After the closure of Cameroon's National Produce Marketing Board in 1990, rigorous measures no longer existed to control production of quality cocoa. This study assesses farmers' knowledge of postharvest practices that could influence cocoa bean quality (CBQ), their perception of quality cocoa and the factors that hinder good farming and postharvest practices (GFPHP). We also make suggestions on how quality control can be incorporated in the production chain to improve on CBQ produced. Methods:In a cross-sectional, purposive study in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon, 100 farmers were enrolled from 10 villages (10 from each village) which make up the major production area in Agro-ecological Zone IV of Cameroon. Farmers were administered a semi-structured questionnaire in the language they best understood.Results: Cocoa farming in this area is a tradition and our results show that 97 % of farmers are males and acquired farming practices mainly through their family member (43 %) and/or friends (34 %). Farms are self-owned, 76 and 85 %, respectively, are less than 5Ha and have been cultivated for more than 20 years. Only 10 % of farmers could perceive quality cocoa using physical characterization. Although more than 95 % of farmers knew GFPHP, only 48 % undertake these practices. Farmers' focus was on bean weight and not on CBQ and 64 % of farmers think quality has little impact on the price. Most farmers (71 %) sell to "buyam-sellams" who care little about quality. The proportion of respondents who acquired knowledge through formal learning was significantly higher than those who did so from informal learning with regards to both good cocoa production practice (p = 0.036) and appreciation of quality attributes (p = 0.043). Subsidizing inputs, access to credits, creating cooperatives, regulating price of cocoa and training on postharvest management in decreasing order could enhance practices that will ensure quality cocoa production. Conclusion:GFPHP is important in the production of quality cocoa. Left alone, farmers will not pay attention to these quality attributes especially as premium quality is not rewarded. Organizing farmers into cooperatives will reduce the link between farmers and companies exporting cocoa and alleviate most bottlenecks in the sector.

Perceived Effect of Postharvest and Value Addition Technologies on Cocoa Farmers’ Productivity in Akwa Ibom State

“…Thus, cocoa farmers were taught better ways of carrying out some activities they already knew such as managing their cocoa after harvest and how to add value to their produce and not just sell them as pod or sell the farm to others at the point of harvest. This finding is supported by the report of Levai et al (2015) that Cocoa is better and fetches a higher price when it has been properly harvested, fermented and dried. When these technologies are applied, the worth of the output increases and there is more return to the farmers.…”

Cocoa Farmers’ Safety Perception and Compliance With Precautions in the Use of Pesticides in Centre and Western Cameroon

“…It reveals that majority of the farmers from Ngoumou and Buea were males, with 91.3% and 91.0%, respectively. Similar results had been reported by Levai et al (2015). These results are expected given that cocoa farming is highly tedious (Anonymous B, 2016; Oluyole et al, 2013).…”

Cocoa Farmers’ Compliance with Safety Precautions in Spraying Agrochemicals and Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Cameroon

“…The results also indicate involvement of more youths in cocoa production in South Western region of Cameroon. Low average farm sizes among cocoa farmers is an issue which had been previously reported [ 53 ]. This may also contribute to low socio-economic status of cocoa farmers due to inability to benefit from some economies of scale advantages.…”