Crop Diversification and Sustainability in a Cocoa Agroforestry System in Meme Division South West Region, Cameroon

Abstract

The diversification of crops and trees in cocoa agroforestry plays a major role in ecosystem goods and services. This study investigated the effects of crop diversification in a cocoa agroforestry farms. The study is aimed at identifying crops, crops preference and profitability in a cocoa agroforestry. Primary data were collected with the use of structured questionnaires and field observations. A sample size of 118 respondents was identified for the study. Forty (40) farmers each were interviewed in Matoh and Bole while 38 farmers interviewed in Njombe Mbonge. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21. Descriptive statistics were used and Chi square (X2) Goodness-of–fit test was performed to check for association at . Results showed that 65 % of farmers had farm sizes between 2-5 hectares with majority of the farmers being males (72.8 %). The major crops farmers diversified in cocoa agroforestry were plantain, cocoyam, cassava, maize, bush mango, bitter cola and Njangsang. The preferences for cultivation of these crops were mainly for food, income and shades. All respondents (100%) cultivated cocoa for income (X2 cal=113.5, x2tab=7.81). NTFPs were cultivated mainly for income with 61.0 %, for Njangsang (X2 cal=25.1, x2tab=7.81), 37.3 % for Bitter cola (X2cal=17.8, x2tab=7.81) and 47.5 % For Bush mango (X2cal=28.5, x2tab=7.81). An average net farm income (NFI) of 187699.8 FCFA and 238252.9 FCFA was obtained per hectare just for cocoa only and cocoa + diversified crops respectively. A net profit margin of 0.49 and 0.54 were obtained for cocoa only and cocoa + diversified crops respectively. This study recommends that diversifying cocoa with crops and some economic trees will yield better income and improved biodiversity.