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Leaf Vegetable Cultivation in Cameroon: An Overview of the Situation in Njombe and Surrounding Areas

Published in Plant (Volume 11, Issue 1)
Received: 9 February 2023     Accepted: 13 March 2023     Published: 28 March 2023
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Abstract

Over the past ten years, it has been noted that the demand for leafy vegetables in the coastal area of Cameroon is increasing, particularly in the district of Njombe-Penja. Despite this growth in production volumes, there are also more or less severe shortages at certain times of the year. The main causes behind the variations in vegetable production in the Littoral zone are not well known and/or not recorded. In order to sort out the different factors (vegetable varieties, planting period, use of fertilisers and pesticides, soil, etc.) that interact on the production of leafy vegetables in the Littoral zone, it became necessary to conduct a study reviewing the state of leafy vegetable production and marketing activities in the locality of Njombé and its surroundings. This study also aims to better identify the main distribution chains and their vitality related to the markets supplied by vegetable production in the Njombe area. The methodological approach involved random sampling to constitute a population of 100 individuals (farmers, traders, etc.). A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to the target sample. The main results show that 96% of the individuals practising vegetable cropping are uneducated women, aged between 20 and 64 years. The individual areas cultivated are mostly very small to medium (between 64m2 and 870 m2). The vast majority of the cultivated land is rented (80%). The most cultivated leafy vegetable varieties are, in order of importance: “Black nightshade” (100%), “African Eggplant” (84%), “green amaranth” (80%), “bush okra” (80%), “Hibiscus” (40%), and “Water leaf” (32%). The seeds used come mainly from local markets (60%). The use of fertilisers and pesticides (doses and application frequencies) is not mastered by the farmers. The major constraints to production are: the difficulty of obtaining good quality seeds (86%), fungal diseases (80%), and attacks by various pests. This study also highlighted the economic potential of this vegetable activity in the locality.

Published in Plant (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14
Page(s) 27-32
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Leafy Vegetables, Varieties, Production Systems

References
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[3] Kahane R., Temple L., Brat P., Bon H D E. (2005). Les légumes feuilles des pays tropicaux: diversité, richesse économique et valeur santé dans un contexte très fragile. In Les légumes : un patrimoine à transmettre et à valoriser. Thème III : Utilisation et perception. P. 9.
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  • APA Style

    Enome Akame Guy, Emade Ngoudjede Raissa, Kwa Moise. (2023). Leaf Vegetable Cultivation in Cameroon: An Overview of the Situation in Njombe and Surrounding Areas. Plant, 11(1), 27-32. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14

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    ACS Style

    Enome Akame Guy; Emade Ngoudjede Raissa; Kwa Moise. Leaf Vegetable Cultivation in Cameroon: An Overview of the Situation in Njombe and Surrounding Areas. Plant. 2023, 11(1), 27-32. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14

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    AMA Style

    Enome Akame Guy, Emade Ngoudjede Raissa, Kwa Moise. Leaf Vegetable Cultivation in Cameroon: An Overview of the Situation in Njombe and Surrounding Areas. Plant. 2023;11(1):27-32. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14,
      author = {Enome Akame Guy and Emade Ngoudjede Raissa and Kwa Moise},
      title = {Leaf Vegetable Cultivation in Cameroon: An Overview of the Situation in Njombe and Surrounding Areas},
      journal = {Plant},
      volume = {11},
      number = {1},
      pages = {27-32},
      doi = {10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.plant.20231101.14},
      abstract = {Over the past ten years, it has been noted that the demand for leafy vegetables in the coastal area of Cameroon is increasing, particularly in the district of Njombe-Penja. Despite this growth in production volumes, there are also more or less severe shortages at certain times of the year. The main causes behind the variations in vegetable production in the Littoral zone are not well known and/or not recorded. In order to sort out the different factors (vegetable varieties, planting period, use of fertilisers and pesticides, soil, etc.) that interact on the production of leafy vegetables in the Littoral zone, it became necessary to conduct a study reviewing the state of leafy vegetable production and marketing activities in the locality of Njombé and its surroundings. This study also aims to better identify the main distribution chains and their vitality related to the markets supplied by vegetable production in the Njombe area. The methodological approach involved random sampling to constitute a population of 100 individuals (farmers, traders, etc.). A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to the target sample. The main results show that 96% of the individuals practising vegetable cropping are uneducated women, aged between 20 and 64 years. The individual areas cultivated are mostly very small to medium (between 64m2 and 870 m2). The vast majority of the cultivated land is rented (80%). The most cultivated leafy vegetable varieties are, in order of importance: “Black nightshade” (100%), “African Eggplant” (84%), “green amaranth” (80%), “bush okra” (80%), “Hibiscus” (40%), and “Water leaf” (32%). The seeds used come mainly from local markets (60%). The use of fertilisers and pesticides (doses and application frequencies) is not mastered by the farmers. The major constraints to production are: the difficulty of obtaining good quality seeds (86%), fungal diseases (80%), and attacks by various pests. This study also highlighted the economic potential of this vegetable activity in the locality.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Leaf Vegetable Cultivation in Cameroon: An Overview of the Situation in Njombe and Surrounding Areas
    AU  - Enome Akame Guy
    AU  - Emade Ngoudjede Raissa
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    Y1  - 2023/03/28
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14
    T2  - Plant
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20231101.14
    AB  - Over the past ten years, it has been noted that the demand for leafy vegetables in the coastal area of Cameroon is increasing, particularly in the district of Njombe-Penja. Despite this growth in production volumes, there are also more or less severe shortages at certain times of the year. The main causes behind the variations in vegetable production in the Littoral zone are not well known and/or not recorded. In order to sort out the different factors (vegetable varieties, planting period, use of fertilisers and pesticides, soil, etc.) that interact on the production of leafy vegetables in the Littoral zone, it became necessary to conduct a study reviewing the state of leafy vegetable production and marketing activities in the locality of Njombé and its surroundings. This study also aims to better identify the main distribution chains and their vitality related to the markets supplied by vegetable production in the Njombe area. The methodological approach involved random sampling to constitute a population of 100 individuals (farmers, traders, etc.). A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to the target sample. The main results show that 96% of the individuals practising vegetable cropping are uneducated women, aged between 20 and 64 years. The individual areas cultivated are mostly very small to medium (between 64m2 and 870 m2). The vast majority of the cultivated land is rented (80%). The most cultivated leafy vegetable varieties are, in order of importance: “Black nightshade” (100%), “African Eggplant” (84%), “green amaranth” (80%), “bush okra” (80%), “Hibiscus” (40%), and “Water leaf” (32%). The seeds used come mainly from local markets (60%). The use of fertilisers and pesticides (doses and application frequencies) is not mastered by the farmers. The major constraints to production are: the difficulty of obtaining good quality seeds (86%), fungal diseases (80%), and attacks by various pests. This study also highlighted the economic potential of this vegetable activity in the locality.
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Multipurpose Station of Njombe, Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Njombe, Cameroon

  • Multipurpose Station of Njombe, Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Njombe, Cameroon

  • Multipurpose Station of Njombe, Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Njombe, Cameroon

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