Zac Tchoundjeu

Policy and Legal Frameworks Governing Trees: Incentives or Disincentives for Smallholder Tree Planting Decisions in Cameroon?

Agroforestry and planting trees on farmers’ fields have been reported as important elements in a strategy to meet the millennium development goals of poverty reduction and climate change improvement. However, their uptake seems to be constrained by factors both internal and external to the household and related to the policy and legislative environment. This paper examines the impact of these factors on farmers’ decisions to plant trees. Cameroon is used as a case to analyse whether existing policies and legislation governing trees support or discourage tree planting, using qualitative content analyses. Although their mission papers and statements suggest most national government policies in Cameroon address tree planting and agroforestry, actual legislation designed to follow up the policies mostly contradicts the poverty reduction goals. Often legislation and regulations are more conservation-oriented and do not provide a clear procedure to distinguish between products from trees found in the wild and those gathered from farmers’ fields.

Getting Trees Into Farmers’ Fields: Success of Rural Nurseries in Distributing High Quality Planting Material in Cameroon

Availability of high quality tree planting material within proximity of farmers and at affordable prices is one of the prerequisites for larger uptake of tree cultivation. This study examines whether rural small-scale nurseries can produce a diversity of tree planting material and whether resource-poor farmers have access to it. Twelve nurseries supported by the tree domestication program in the West and North-west regions of Cameroon were compared to 12 nurseries in similar conditions, but not in contact with the program. Nurseries using the domestication approach were found to provide tree planting material that responds better to farmers’ needs in terms of quantities, species and propagation methods used. Their clientele is more diverse including farmers from the communities where the nurseries are located, but also from far beyond. However, prices of vegetatively propagated material were considered the most prohibitive factor. It is concluded that tree planting initiatives should refocus efforts towards technical training and business support to small-scale nurseries to increase efficiency. Research efforts should look for ways of reducing production costs and improving nursery productivity.

Effectiveness of Grassroots Organisations in the Dissemination of Agroforestry Innovations

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for a reason: none of the other MDGs can be met without food security and economic development. Because 75 percent of the poor in developing countries live in rural areas, strengthening the agricultural sector can not only improve access to nutritious food, it does more – at least twice as much – to reduce rural poverty than investment in any other sector (FAO, 2011). The role of extension in this battle is clear; there is a great need for information, ideas and organisation in order to develop an agriculture that will meet complex demand patterns, reduce poverty, and preserve or enhance ecological resources.

Intensification of cocoa agroforestry systems as a REDD+ strategy in Cameroon: hurdles, motivations, and challenges

Tree planting and the use of inputs within cocoa agroforestry systems are key intensification pathways for enhancing the contribution of these systems to REDD+. However, scholarship on the hurdles, motivations, and challenges pertaining to intensification of these systems remains surprisingly scanty. A questionnaire addressing these knowledge gaps was administered to 461 cocoa farmers randomly selected from 10 communities in the South Region of Cameroon. The lack of technical support was identified as one of the main obstacles to tree planting and the use of inputs. The least motivating factor behind tree planting and the use of inputs was inadequate technical assistance. Limited access to credit facilities was observed as of the most important challenges to tree planting and the use of inputs. Addressing the various hurdles and challenges and promoting the least motivation factor through proper incentive mechanisms could advance REDD+ since intensification pathways within these systems increase agricultural productivity thereby enabling farmers to stay on the same land. This results in less forest being cleared and allows for the recovery of forests degaraded for the creation of these systems. In closing, we proffer incentive mechansims for promoting intensification pathways within these cocoa agroforestry systems.

Building long-term relationships between producers and trader groups in the non-timber forest product sector in Cameroon

Summary table of trust items. Elements of trusts Majority of producers trust traders on this item? Majority of traders trusts producers on this item Existence of mutual trusts Honesty information on quantity No No No Honesty information on quality No No No Reliability Yes No No Benevolence No No No Flexibility Yes Yes Yes Total number of yes 2/5 1/5 1/5 producers have less confidence that traders will change initially agreed buying terms when market conditions improve for the better. This interpretation follows producers’ narrative comments during data collection that traders often use fluctuating prices in urban markets to bargain for lower buying price, which according to the producers may not be true. This means that ignorant of reliable information on market prices, producers’ are forced to operate as price takers. In summary for all the five items used to measure trust, a majority of the producers interviewed do not trust traders on three out of the five items, while traders do not trust producers on four out of the five items (Table 2). Mutual trusts exist for one out of the five items. This means that, despite precautions taken at the beginning of the relationship, partners have not been able to build trust amongst them and may account for the low levels of partnership satisfaction.

Rethinking rights and interests of local communities in REDD+ designs: lessons learnt from current forest tenure systems in Cameroon

It is increasingly becoming clear that reforms based on the claims of local forest communities regarding the right to natural resources will be needed to adequately address issues of sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current institutional and policy frameworks of Cameroon and other SSA countries have bestowed exclusive land tenure rights to the State, while curtailing access of local farmers to forest and forest-based resources on which they depend for a living. It is therefore unlikely that successful forest conservation and implementation of REDD

Factors affecting the adoption of agricultural innovation: the case of a Ricinodendron heudelotii kernel extraction machine in southern Cameroon

Abstract Agroforestry is now accepted as a sustainable way of improving existing cropping systems. As with other agricultural innovations, the adoption of agroforestry practices depends on farmers’ perceptions of the benefits that would arise from the use of these practices. Ricinodendron heudelotii (Baill. Pierre ex Pax.) or njansang (in Bassa local language) is a tropical tree, the kernels of which are in high demand in Cameroon as a thickening ingredient. Njansang is suitable for integration in agroforestry systems in the area, but its expansion is constrained by difficulties in kernel extraction, which has been exclusively manual so far. This paper investigates the factors that determine producers’ attitudes towards the introduction and use of a kernel extraction machine. Among the issues investigated were characterization of users, comparison of mechanical and manual extraction, users’ appreciation of the machine and willingness to continue to use the machine. Using a structured questionnaire, 81 njansang producers from three categories were randomly selected from five villages in southern Cameroon. We further investigate how attributes of an innovation influence the adoption of the machine. Results from a principal component analysis and logistic regression suggest that the age and education of producers, annual income from njansang, the number of njansang trees exploited and the purchase price of the machine are important variables in determining its adoption. The use of the machine allows producers to spend less time on njansang kernel extraction, thereby increasing returns in labour and offering opportunities to increase the number of trees a household can exploit.

A Choice Experiment Approach for Assessing Preferences to Forest Law Configuration and Compliance: The Case of NTFP Traders in Cameroon

SUMMARY Considerable efforts are being deployed to reduce illegal forestry activities in the Congo basin forests, but these efforts seem to be concentrated on illegal timber logging and wildlife poaching to the neglect of other illegal forest activities such as Non Timber Forests Products (NTFP) harvesting and trade. This paper applies a choice experiment approach to evaluate policy options that are hypothesised to provide incentives for small scale forest actors to comply with the forestry law governing trade in NTFP in Cameroon. Data was collected from 70 traders. Based on willingness to pay measures, it was revealed that the options most preferred by the sampled traders included a decentralisation of the application process to obtain permits and a reduction in the volume of paper work involved in the process. The authors conclude that acknowledging the preferences of small scale actors can be relevant in reducing illegality in the forestry sector.

FEASIBILITY OF FARMER-MANAGED VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION NURSERIES IN CAMEROON

ABSTRACT ICRAF and partners in West and Central Africa have been implementing a participatory tree domestication project since 1998. The project aims to diversify smallholder farming systems through the cultivation of indigenous trees to increase income and reduce slash-and-burn practices. Participatory evaluation of vegetative propagation techniques with farmers in pilot sites of the humid tropics of Cameroon indicates that with training and technical backstopping, farmers are able to propagate trees of their choice using rooting of cuttings and marcotts. This paper analyses the costs of plant production and highlights why many nurseries are running well below their potential. The authors recommend further efforts to simplify the methods, extend the training of nursery staff and promote marketing and market research.

An Examination of Forest Certification Status among Logging Companies in Cameroon

This paper assesses the level of interest, awareness, and adoption of ISO 14001 and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification schemes among logging companies in Cameroon. Eleven logging companies located in Douala in the Littoral Region of Cameroon were assessed through a structured interview using an administered questionnaire which was mostly analyzed qualitatively thereafter. The findings indicated that none of the companies was certified for ISO 14001; however 63.64% of them were already FSC-certified. Four companies (36.36%) were neither FSC- nor ISO 14001 EMS-certified. Among the factors found to influence the adoption rate was the level of awareness about ISO 14001 and FSC certification schemes. The main drivers for pursuing FSC certification were easy penetration into international markets, tax holiday benefits, and enhancement of corporate image of the logging companies through corporate social responsibility fulfillments. Poor domestic market for certified products was found to be the major impediment to get certified. To make logging activities more environmentally friendly and socially acceptable, logging companies should be encouraged to get certified through the ISO 14001 EMS scheme which is almost nonexistent so far. This requires awareness creation about the scheme, encouraging domestic markets for certified products and creating policy incentives.