Leafy vegetables production, marketing and constraints in Buea Subdivision of the Southwest Region of Cameroon

Abstract

With the increasing population and to cope malnutrition, vegetable production is necessary in Buea. This study was conducted to identify the production, marketing and constraints to leafy vegetables production in Buea, Cameroon. Questionnaire/interview and field surveys were carried out with vegetable farmers. The results showed that female, as well as educated farmers were found to be more involved in vegetable cultivation than their male counterparts. Six vegetables; waterleaf, huckleberry, Amaranthus, bitter leaf, anchia and ongaonga were outstanding as preferred by farmers and consumers. Vegetables were cultivated in different cropping systems. Monoculture cropping was rare and was practiced averagely only on 24.5% of the farms. Mono- mixed cropping was observed on 10% of the fields and 65.5% of the farms had mixed cropping system with other plant species other than vegetables. Most of the land used for cultivation were hired. Seed source were 63.3% from farmers’ farm as against 36.7% from the local market. Average of 180, 160 and 130 bundles were harvested biweekly for huckleberry, bitter leaf and water leaf respectively while ongaonga, amaranth and anchia, had an average of 20, 40 and 20 bundles respectively. The prices per bundle of vegetables varied from 200 to 700 cfa. Farmers, wholesalers and retailers were involved in the supply chain. Lack of farmland, decrease in soil fertility, lack of inputs, lack of certified seeds, high cost of labour for weeding, market related issues and diseases were constraints faced by farmers. These constraints not only aggravate the misery of farmers but also contribute to the loss of the region's economic influence in vegetable production. In order to ameliorate these difficulties, it is therefore essential to practice intensive cultivation with more inputs and especially using certified seeds.