Farmer Management of Cocoa and Coffee Agroforestry Systems: Assessing the Contribution of Woody Species to Farmers' Income in the Centre Region and the Noun Division (Cameroon)

Trevor holds a Master II in Rural Economics and Sociology, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA), Bafia, Cameroon. He has successfully completed his MRes in the FASA, Department of Forestry, at the University of Dschang, Cameroon. Trevor’s project is entitled Farmer Management of Cocoa and Coffee Agroforestry Systems: Assessing the Contribution of Woody Species to Farmers’ Income in the Centre Region and the Noun Division (Cameroon).

In Cameroon, cocoa and coffee are major cash crops, historically accounting for approximately 28% of non-oil exports and 40% of exports from the primary sector. The coffee crisis of the 1980s and 1990s profoundly reshaped production systems: farmers adopted diversification strategies by integrating cocoa trees, oil palms, and fruit tree species into their farms, leading to the emergence of complex agroforestry systems (Azaou et al., 2020; Ngomeni et al., 2023). In the Noun Division of western Cameroon, the cradle of Robusta coffee cultivation, and in the Lekié Division of central Cameroon, the country’s main cocoa-growing area, this diversification has resulted in multicrop agroforestry systems combining coffee trees, cocoa trees, and a variety of woody species (Ndonmou et al., 2023). In this context, agroforestry represents a natural resource management system that, through the integration of trees into agricultural holdings, helps diversify and sustain production while enhancing the resilience of rural landscapes and livelihoods (Harmand & Seghieri, 2019).

Despite this favourable context for the promotion of agroforestry systems and the forthcoming implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), several scientific gaps remain. Previous studies have documented the floristic diversity of cocoa agroforests in certain areas of central and eastern Cameroon (Sonwa, 2007; Temgoua et al., 2018; Tane et al., 2023). Although some research has also examined the floristic composition of cocoa and coffee agroforests in western Cameroon (Noun) and central Cameroon (Lekié), much remains to be done to achieve a comprehensive characterisation of these systems. Furthermore, farmers’ management practices, species selection mechanisms, uses of woody species, and producers’ decision-making processes remain poorly documented in these regions. Finally, the actual economic contribution of associated woody species to household agricultural income remains largely underestimated.

The main research question addressed by this study is: How are cocoa- and coffee-based agroforestry systems managed by farmers, and what income do they derive from the woody species associated with these main cash crops?

From this central question arise the following secondary questions:

• What is the floristic composition of cocoa- and coffee-based agroforestry systems in the Noun and Lekié regions?
• What management practices are employed in cocoa- and coffee-based agroforestry systems?
• What are the use values of woody species, and how do they contribute to farmers’ incomes?
• What factors influence the economic performance of cocoa- and coffee-based agroforestry systems?

The methodological approach consisted of analysing the floristic composition and management practices of cocoa and coffee agroforestry systems, conducting an economic assessment of the contribution of woody species to farmers’ incomes, and identifying the factors influencing this contribution. To address these questions, the study employed Nerlove’s perennial crop production function, cost-benefit analysis, and the multiple-use value assessment method.