2nd World Congress of Agroforestry Nairobi, 23-28 August 2009 IRAD

CHARACTERIZATION OF COCOA AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS AND EVALUATION OF THEIR SUSTAINABILITY: THE CASE OF CENTER CAMEROON

12° 16°

Nord-Ouest

am Mb Bamenda 3008 D jé r Foumban e 1571 m Garoua Boulaï Dschang Ouest Lem Sud-Ouest Bafoussam 1115 1060 N o u Mundemba n a Centre nag P. JAGORET, Sa Bélabo i

Ngonksamba é

d

Kumba a K Batouri Mont Littoral Bertoua I. MICHEL Buéa Cameroun Douala 4095 Yaoundé 4° 4° 927 1295 Est and E. MALEZIEUX Edea Dja 1043 Ebolowa Lomié Kribi 1024 Sangmélima Sud

0 50 100 km 12° 16° INTRODUCTION 1/1

(i) The oldest cocoa production region of Cameroon is the Center-South basin where cocoa trees are usually grown with many forest and fruit trees species (Shannon index value around 3).

(ii) A large part of the cocoa orchard contains very old, yet still active, cocoa plots, contrary to what is commonly thought.

(iii) In fact, one usually consider that cocoa cultivation is characterized by a permanent movement of production zones due to difficulties for farmers to replant their old cocoa plantations after 30-40 years.

Lack of sustainability of the main cocoa cropping systems whose level of agrodiversity is usually low. MATERIALS AND METHODS 1/2

Nigeria

Chad

Study zones Central African Republic

Yaoundé

Atlantic ocean Equatorial Gabon Congo Guinea 1500-1600 mm T(°C) R(mm) State capital

Zima Region border 111 Main road

J F M A M J J A S O N D Study zone Yaoundé Forest 1700-1800 mm Savanna T(°C) R(mm) Ngomedzap 37 Population density Annual average 1800 mm 37 rainfall

J F M A M J J A S O N D MATERIALS AND METHODS 2/2

Experimental design Datas collected

Importance of cocoa agroforestry systems Survey (2003) in 742 cocoa farms in the crop rotation and in the revenue of the farmers

1142 cocoa plantations age, technical management

316 cocoa plantations Cocoa density and (stable area) fermended dried cocoa yields RESULTS 1/4

50.0 81 % of cocoa plantations 40.0 are more than 40 years old Oldness of the cocoa 30.0 agroforestry systems % 20.0 of Center Cameroon

10.0

0.0 < 10 10-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 > 60 years years years years years years years

Distribution of cocoa plantations per age category (first plantings). Study involving 1142 cocoa plantations of Zima and Ngomedzap study zones. RESULTS 2/4

Importance of cocoa agroforestry systems for farmers

Study Farmed Cocoa % Total farm Cocoa income % zones area (ha) area (ha) Income (CFA F) (CFA F) Zima 6,1 3,8 62 1019936 778 419 76 (+ 3,71)* (+ 2,58) (+ 762 114,41) (+ 542 339,55) Ngomedzap 6,8 4,1 60 742 149 572 289 77 (+ 4,10) (+ 2,78) (+ 839 744,10) (+ 431 681,80) * Standard deviation

Old cocoa agroforestry systems remain the economical and social basis of the farms RESULTS 3/4

Cocoa agroforestry systems management

Study Cost of the chemical inputs per hectare (CFA F) No chemical zones Mirid control Black pod control fertilization Zima 4 332 (+ 3 217.04) 14 906 (+ 13 588.29) Ngomedzap 5 096 (+ 3 152.64) 14 047 (+ 9 777.22)

Cocoa phytosanitary protection is 5 times cheaper than the usual recommendations Study Cocoa regeneration methods (% of farmers) zones Regeneration methods Replantation of Rejuvenation of allow a progressive cocoa plantations cocoa trees renewal of Zima 94.3 45.8 the orchards Ngomedzap 89.1 70.1 RESULTS 4/4

Evaluation of the sustainability of the cocoa agroforestry systems

2500 ) 500 -1

2000 400

1500 300

1000 200

500 100 Number of cocoa trees per hectare per trees cocoa of Number

0 yield ha cocoa dried (kg Fermended 0 < 10 years 10-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 10-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 > 60 years years years years years years years years years years years

Study involving 742 cocoa plantations of Zima and Ngomedzap study zones Density of cocoa trees and cocoa yields are remarkably stable for the long term CONCLUSION 1/1

(i) Our study confirms the sustainability of the cocoa agroforestry systems of Centre Cameroon.

(ii) The existence of very old and still active cocoa agroforests shows that another cocoa cultivation model is possible and different from the one usually recommended to the farmers, mainly based on a low level of biodiversity and an intensive management of cocoa trees.

(iii) These cocoa agro-forestry systems can certainly be improved to guarantee a better income to the farmers. However they offer a strong alternative to the problem of the conversion of cocoa cropping systems based on the development of pioneer fronts towards more stable and viable cocoa cropping systems.