Entry: Bill Guyton
I wanted to share another story from my recent trip to Cameroon. In mid-March, our team drove to Ikeketo, a small village an hour and a half West of Younde. There we met with Evouna Mathias, an STCP Farmer Field School graduate. Evouna invited us to visit a small farm he inherited from his father. We were joined by about 50 neighbors and relatives from Ikeketo (below).
The cocoa trees were aged, but Evouna was following the improved FFS techniques he had learned and he was hoping for a better harvest this year. His wife, also a Farmer Field School graduate, helps Evouna on the farm (below).
They mentioned that one of the biggest problems they face is the lack of quality planting materials. We suggested that his Farmer Field School Facilitator establish a cocoa tree nursery in Ikeketo so that the local cocoa farmers can plant higher yielding, disease resistant trees along side their older trees. Tree seedlings are available at a research station 10 miles from the village. A new road is being constructed near Ikeketo which will help with the delivery of farm inputs and will help farmers to market their cocoa and other crops. Progress is gradual, but there are opportunities for progressive farmers like Evouna.