Antoine Mani Tonye, Cameroonian cocoa farmer, has seen
healthy yields and an improvement in his income since he began planting a
locally adapted seed variety developed in a laboratory in the capital Yaounde.
“In its first year, my nursery has been the best. This
should get me out of poverty,” said Tonye, who farms his own plot in the
village of Azanzoa on the outskirts of Mbalmayo in central Cameroon.
“For now, I am doing better, I don’t beg, I do my best, I
manage to get by on my own. Farming is going to become my passion.”
There are 600,000 cocoa farmers across Cameroon, and it is a
vital sector for rural communities. But cocoa is a fragile crop with yields
that tend to decrease over time, putting farmers’ livelihoods at risk.
That’s why the African Development Bank has committed to
provide funding to IRAD, the Institute of Agriculture Research for Development,
where research is focused on creating adapted seed varieties.
The second-generation seed varieties developed by IRAD allow
for an average yield of 2 tons per hectare, compared to the first generation
developed in the 1970s and 1980s that produced around 1 ton per hectare.
“There has been great progress. In less than two decades, we
have been able to double the yield potential of the varieties that farmers now
use,” said Bruno Efombagen, an IRAD researcher in Yaounde.
Demand for the higher-yielding seeds has outstripped supply.
To solve this problem, the African Development Bank has supported IRAD in its
efforts to make the seeds accessible to a greater number of farmers. Across the
country, IRAD is setting up more and more seed production fields.
A new seed variety called “Brazilian cacao” is now widely in
use, providing far better yields to Cameroonian farmers.
“Before, our parents used to grow a variety called
“tout-venant”, but today, thanks to advances in research, we have access to
improved seeds,” said Samba MViena, Chairman of AKOM-COOP-CA, a cooperative of
farmers.
“You get the first yields 18 months after planting them,
with flowers and a few pods on some stems. After two or two-and-a-half years,
or more precisely three years, you can already get a perfect crop.”
The higher-quality cocoa seed varieties have helped to stem
the migration of young people from rural villages to seek work in the city.
MViena’s cooperative has strong youth representation, with 62 young people in
the group.
“Their decision to engage in the cacao sector stems from the
availability of improved seeds, because these seeds allow for quick and
bountiful harvests,” he said.
Brazilian cacao not only provides far better yields to
Cameroonian farmers, it benefits everyone in the production chain.
Trader Yannick Fosso buys cocoa from across the region and
sells it in Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala.
“The season runs from August to January. I make all my
year’s earnings during those six months,” he explained. “When you look at the
plants, you can see that Brazilian cacao is a better variety than the ones that
our parents used to grow. Its colour is much brighter; the pods never get
black, they are entirely red. So when you brew it, it comes out with a very
good colour and taste.”
Cocoa is Cameroon’s second export crop. The majority of the
Central African nation’s annual output of about 220,000 tons is shipped
overseas from Douala’s Atlantic port.
For Fosso, part of the pride he takes in his work is in
Cameroon’s improving reputation as a cocoa exporter. “Cacao is a central part
of the lives of the people here,” he said. “It’s rewarding to buy something
that is eaten across the world.”