Abstract
Soil macro-fauna play an important role in soil fertility improvement in different agricultural systems. However, limited research has been done to assess the role played by soil macro-fauna to soil fertility enhancement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems. This study was therefore initiated to fill this knowledge void. A mixed research approach was used during data collection, and data analysis was done using descriptive and analytical statistics. Findings showed that the main indicators of soil fertility perceived by cocoa farmers in cocoa-based agroforestry systems were cocoa yield (100%), soil colour (90%) and presence of soil macro-organisms (80%). Cocoa farmers identified earth worms (100%), ants (100%), termites (70%), millipedes (50%), and centipedes (50%) as the main soil macro-fauna found in cocoa-based agroforestry systems. With respect to the contribution of soil macro-fauna to soil fertility improvement, cocoa farmers perceived that earth worms, ants, and termites (62, 47.7, 57.6, and 52.4, respectively) contributed highly to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems while crickets, woodlice, snails and slugs were perceived by cocoa farmers (61.7, 60, 45.6, and 58.9%, respectively) to contribute only averagely to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems. Through correlation and regression analysis, it was found that the main soil macro-fauna contributing significantly (p<0.05), to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems were earth worms, ants, termites, beetles, snails and slugs. On the basis of these findings, it is recommended that appropriate measures be taken to ensure the sustainability of soil macro-fauna in cocoa-based agroforestry systems owing to the great role they play role in soil fertility improvement. Key words: Soil, soil fertility, cocoa farmers, cocoa-based agroforestry, agroforestry, macro-fauna, Cameroon.
Highlights
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) production is dominated by countries found in the tropics (Duguma et al, 2001; Oke and Odebiyi, 2007; Vaast and Somarriba, 2014)
With respect to the contribution of soil macro-fauna to soil fertility improvement, cocoa farmers perceived that earth worms, ants, termites and termites contributed highly to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems while crickets, woodlice, snails and slugs were perceived by cocoa farmers to contribute only averagely to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems
Through correlation and regression analysis, it was found that the main soil macro-fauna contributing significantly, to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems were earth worms, ants, termites, beetles, snails and slugs
Summary
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) production is dominated by countries found in the tropics (Duguma et al, 2001; Oke and Odebiyi, 2007; Vaast and Somarriba, 2014). These are countries characterized by humid conditions (high temperatures and large amounts of rainfall) which suit the cocoa plant perfectly (Rice and Greenberg, 2000; Tankou, 2015). Dwindling yields in smallholder cocoa farms have generally been attributed to soil fertility exhaustion, inadequate maintenance of cocoa farms, ageing farmers and farms, poor and unsustainable agricultural practices that destroy soil organisms, major players in soil fertility enhancement in agricultural systems and many other factors. It is imperative to promote agro-ecological practices that are sustainable, protect soil organisms and foster natural decomposition of organic materials (Nfinn, 2005; Jagoret et al, 2011, 2012; Alemagi et al, 2015; Mukete et al, 2018; Jagoret et al, 2018)
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