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Factors affecting the adoption of agricultural innovation: the case of a Ricinodendron heudelotii kernel extraction machine in southern Cameroon

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Abstract

Agroforestry is now accepted as a sustainable way of improving existing cropping systems. As with other agricultural innovations, the adoption of agroforestry practices depends on farmers’ perceptions of the benefits that would arise from the use of these practices. Ricinodendron heudelotii (Baill. Pierre ex Pax.) or njansang (in Bassa local language) is a tropical tree, the kernels of which are in high demand in Cameroon as a thickening ingredient. Njansang is suitable for integration in agroforestry systems in the area, but its expansion is constrained by difficulties in kernel extraction, which has been exclusively manual so far. This paper investigates the factors that determine producers’ attitudes towards the introduction and use of a kernel extraction machine. Among the issues investigated were characterization of users, comparison of mechanical and manual extraction, users’ appreciation of the machine and willingness to continue to use the machine. Using a structured questionnaire, 81 njansang producers from three categories were randomly selected from five villages in southern Cameroon. We further investigate how attributes of an innovation influence the adoption of the machine. Results from a principal component analysis and logistic regression suggest that the age and education of producers, annual income from njansang, the number of njansang trees exploited and the purchase price of the machine are important variables in determining its adoption. The use of the machine allows producers to spend less time on njansang kernel extraction, thereby increasing returns in labour and offering opportunities to increase the number of trees a household can exploit.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Belgium Development Cooperation (DGCD). We also thank Patric Tabougue Nguefac for assisting during data collection and Dr. Divine Foundjem-Tita for his valuable comments on the first manuscript. We recognize the efforts of producers of Mendoungue, Mambele, Ondeck, Ebassi and Alen who have been interested in our work and we thank them for willingly spending their time with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), West and Central Africa Region, P. O. Box 16317, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Charlie Mbosso, Ann Degrande, Zac Tchoundjeu & Sygnola Tsafack

  2. Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Ethnobotany, University of Ghent, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Charlie Mbosso & Patrick Van Damme

  3. West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (W.P. Agent-based modelling)/Center for Development (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Grace B. Villamor

  4. Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamycka 129, Prague 6 – Suchdol, 165 21, Prague, Czech Republic

    Patrick Van Damme

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  1. Charlie Mbosso
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  2. Ann Degrande
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  3. Grace B. Villamor
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  4. Patrick Van Damme
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  5. Zac Tchoundjeu
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  6. Sygnola Tsafack
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Correspondence to Charlie Mbosso.

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Mbosso, C., Degrande, A., Villamor, G.B. et al. Factors affecting the adoption of agricultural innovation: the case of a Ricinodendron heudelotii kernel extraction machine in southern Cameroon. Agroforest Syst 89, 799–811 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9813-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9813-y

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