Abstract
Reinforcing producer's capacity (CEF) is a new extension
approach initiated in North Cameroon in 1998 through « Pôle
Régional de la Recherche Appliquée au Développement des
Savanes d'Afrique Centrale (PRASAC) ». The best results obtained in that
part of the country have led the Duras Project to extend that approach in the
Southern part of the country. Tested in Akonolinga in 2006, the purpose of this
approach is to stimulate discussion among farmers and to improve their farm
management practices. After two years of assisting farmers, it seems important
to assess what have been achieved for them and estimate the impact.
Six villages (Mvan, Ndibidjeng, Mingeumeu, Mengos,
Ndéllé, and Ondeck) of the Akonolinga subdivision where CEF was
experimented were retained as the sample areas for the study. Seventy two
farmers benefiting from the CEF approach were randomly selected, six animators
and the managers of the «Association pour le Développement des
Exploitations Agricoles du Centre (ADEAC)» project were interviewed. Data
were collected using a questionnaire addressed to farmers, and interview guide
addressed to animators and the managers of ADEAC project. Descriptive
statistics (means, percentages ect...) were used to analyse the data using SPSS
software and triangulation method was also used to analyse the data of
interview guides.
The monography of ADEAC show that, CEF activities are
complementary to the programmes (agricultural program, capacity building
program and micro finance program) of ADEAC. Interview with animators reveal
that, animators in the study area are young (37 years old), all hold FSLC and
seventy five percent of them have effectively been trained on one of the
modules (crop season prevision plan, farming system, economic analysis) of
CEF.
An analysis of these results showed that, farmers who
benefited from the training are average 39 years old, are educated and they
have all applied what they have learned in their farms. A relative change due
to CEF activities was observed in 90 % of the farmers in terms of their farming
system practices, agricultural techniques and economic analysis. In fact they
developed mono cropping practices, determined distance between plants,
established their farm budget, better organised their work. Eighty seven
percent of them often discuss about the CEF approach with non members when they
are drinking in «club de vin fort» or at home during a visit to a
neighbour or a family member. The farmers declared that, they know at least one
non member who has improved on his farming practices after discussion (adoption
of mono cropping, respect of distance between plants, plan their crop season).
Those non members brought these changes because they wanted to either satisfy
their curiosity (61 %) or because they have witnessed the changes in the
farming practices of the members (39 %).
CEF in Akonolinga appears as a developmental approach adapted
to the farmers' situation but which is not yet well appropriated by the actors'
concerned (managers of ADEAC, animators and farmers). As in other areas where
CEF were experimented, appropriation of this new approach need a lot of time
(relative time) for mutual learning between animators and farmers. Results also
showed that, the level of education of animators is insufficient. At the end,
it is necessary to reinforce the capacity of ADEAC in order to facilitate the
appropriation and diffusion of CEF. Principally, it is important to organise
trainings to reinforce the capacity building of ADEAC around the organisation
about CEF and particularly on the assimilation of tools used and elaboration of
new topics on CEF in partnership with farmers.
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