CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Agriculture has made tremendous contribution to the lives of every human being in the world today, both economically and socially. It is not just an industry, but the foundation of our civilization. Agriculture provides us with the basic essentials for living; the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the materials inside our homes etc. it also provides many people with incomes. In fact without agriculture, we wouldn’t be able to survive.  In a small nation like Ireland for example, there are approximately 90.000 people employed in this sector with about 140.000 family farms.   This tells us that agriculture is deep in people’s lives worldwide (Insight, 2009).

It should be noted that there are currently about 7.2 billion people in the world today. It increased steadily from a total of 4.4 billion people in 1980 to reach a total of 6.9 billion in

2010. It is projected that this number will reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050. With the World’s population rapidly growing, the need to find new ways of feeding everyone has become more important than ever before. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has stated that if the predicted global population size becomes a reality, then world food production will need to rise by 70%.

Whereas most parts of the world like Europe, America and parts of Asia are meeting food requirements for their own people or are in the process of doing so; other countries in Africa and parts of Asia, are still struggling to feed their growing population (UN, 2008).    Food output in Africa lags behind the rest of the World production levels.  In the last decade, the continents share of world food production was a meager 3.9%.  By comparison, Asia, North America and Europe produced 47.7%, 14.8% and 12.2% respectively (Oerke et al .,1994). By 1990, Africa’s population was 615 million and by the end of 2002, it had reached 813 million  (FAOSTAT,  2002)  giving  a  32%  population  increase  in  just  over  a  decade. Moreover, even within Africa, there are variations in these trends with some countries exhibiting higher population growth with low agricultural development. Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural performance has been variably called the world’s foremost global challenge (UN, 1997) and as still very far behind the rest of Africa (Odulaja and Kiros,1996). Moreover, the region’s population is increasing and is projected to double to 2.1 billion by 2050 (UN,2019).

Low food production and high population growth rates inevitably lead to problems of per capita consumption. Not surprising, the World’s most hungry people live in the sub-Saharan region of the continent (Von Braun, Teklu and Webb, 1999; Wilson, 2001). Both the prevalence of under nourishment and number of undernourished individuals has increased since 2014. Now, 20% of individuals in sub-Saharan Africa are Malnourished, 347 million are moderately food secured and 59 million children suffer from stunted growth (FAO,2020). In some regions, hunger and malnutrition indicators are worse due to shocks such as drought, conflict and pest infestation.  In Eastern Africa for example, 31% of individuals are undernourished (FAO, 2020).

The right to food is one of the most consistently mentioned items in international human rights documents, but it is the one that is most frequently violated (clover, 2003).   Clover (2003)  also  states  that  the  target  set  by  the  World  Food  Summit  (WFS)  in  the  Rome conference of 1996 of reducing hunger by half of 1990 levels by 2015 has failed.  Mason (2006) infers that increasing levels of poverty is a key factor in the hunger crisis or food insecurity in Africa; in some cases of food crises, food may be available but simply unaffordable.  The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) report states that it will require an investment of US $ 18 billion a year in rural infrastructures to achieve the

1996 WFS goal of cutting hunger by 50% partly because African agriculture remains dependent on rain only; and irrigation schemes where they do exist are concentrated in large commercial farms (Boon, 2007).

Cameroon like most African countries faces similar difficulty in her agricultural sector.  The results of a recent large-scale food security study by the World Food Program (WFP) in 2018 show  that  nearly  10%  of  households  in  rural  Cameroon  were  food  insecure  due  to inadequate  food  production  in  the  poor  areas.  Food security experts from WFP have concluded that without renewed efforts to scale up the domestic availability of food beyond present levels, rural Cameroonians may continue to have deficient access to adequate food. One of the arguments often used is that most of the poor live in rural areas and are sustaining themselves mainly by agriculture. The World Food Program (WFP, 2018) reported that 40% of Cameroon’s 23.7 million people live below the poverty line and several studies among which suginoma (2012) shows that food crop farming is the key to poverty reduction among farmers.Increasing agricultural productivity is critical to meeting the continues rising demand for food. Agricultural technologies play immense role in increasing food productivity. Agricultural technologies are said to include all kinds of improved techniques and practices which affect the growth of agricultural output (Jain, Arora and Raju, 2009). According to Loevinsolm et al. (2013), the most common areas of technology development and promotion for crops include new varieties, and management regimes, soil fertility management, weed and pest management, irrigation and water management.

 Over the past centuries, the path of technological development in agriculture has passed through a smooth transition from resource-based system to a science based system.   The twentieth century experienced a major technological breakthrough in agricultural history. The success was largely in   the development of high   yielding modern grain varieties of wheat (from CIMMYT- International Maize and wheat Improvement Centre, Mexico) and rice (from IRRTI – International Rice Research Institute, Philipines) which are highly responsive to inorganic fertilizers, insecticides, effective soil management and water control. The high returns associated, with the adoption of these new varieties of wheat and rice led to their  rapid  diffusion  in  countries  of  Asia  and  Latin  America  consequently leading  to  a dramatic increase in food production.  The increase in food production was dramatic enough to be heralded as the “Green Revelation”   (Hayami and Ruttan, 1985) and the technology facilitating its widespread adoption is coined as the “Green Revolution Technologies”.  Wolf (1986) noted that this strategy of developing new seed varieties which has transformed the lives  of  millions  of  people  is  considered  to  be  the  most  successful  achievement  in international development efforts.  The short-maturity and photo-period insensitivity of these high yielding modern varieties of wheat and rice enabled the farmers to dramatically increase their cropping intensity by harvesting two to three crops from the same piece of land in one year. In other words, by raising crop output per unit of land and increasing cropping intensity, the Green Revolution technically released the constraints imposed by the inelastic supply of land.

Technology comprises of two components, hardware and software. The hardware consists of physical tool that embodies technology (Chi and Yamadu, 2002).  The software consists of information base for the tool. In Numford‟s classification (1946), “technology-as-objects” encompasses the entire range of fabricated items intended for some use or other,  including tools, utensils, utilities, apparatus and machines. For Mitchan (1978), “technology-as- process”, includes most importantly the activities we commonly denote as making and using. The key element here is that of skill, defined as “proficiency in the use of artifact”.  Ingold (2002) distinguished technique from technology.   Technique refers to skills regarded as capability of particular human subjects and technology means a corpus of generalized objective knowledge insofar as it is capable of practical application.

Technology can reach farmers through technology transfer.  Technology transfer refers to the general process of moving information and skills from information or knowledge generators such as research laboratories and Universities to clients such as farmers (Valera et al., 1987). The outcome of technology transfer is the farmer‟s adoption and bringing this into practice and further diffusion to other individuals in the community.   Regarding adoption, farmers sometimes discover problems in putting recommendations into practice.   The extent of adoption, adjustment or rejection depends on the farmer‟s behavior (Valera et al. ,1987) . Masher (1987) defined adoption of an innovation as the process by which, a particular farmer is exposed to consider and finally rejects or practices a particular innovation. The innovation decision model by Rogers (1983) shows the process through which an individual (or other decision making unit) passes from first knowledge of an innovation to forming an attitude towards the innovation to a decision to adopt or reject, to implementing the new idea and to confirming this decision.

 A vast body of research analyzes the drivers of innovation adoption. These reviews highlighted some socio-economic characteristics such as age, education attainments, labor availability, farm size and tenure arrangement, together with other factors like access to credit, extension contacts, and transport facilities and farmers perceptions as key explanatory factors affecting the adoption of innovation specifically in the case of sub-saharan Africa, Mazari,Gatsi,and Muvhunzi(2012) identify assets (physical or human capital),institutions and awareness as the main factors affecting technology adoption by small holder farmers. Institutions include all services to agricultural development such as finance, insurance and information dissemination. In the case of Cameroon, past studies have identify education level ,marketing orientation, agrarian zones, membership to farmer organisations,farm size and contacts with extension agents as factors of adoption of innovations(Ntsama and Kamgina,2008; Kamdem and Kane, 2019)

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Agriculture is of vital importance to developing countries. It is their economies driving force, as most of the populations depend directly or indirectly on farming for their livelihood (world Bank, 2007).  Additionally, agriculture plays an essential role in stimulating growth in other sectors, of the economy, reducing poverty and inequality, and contributing to sub- Saharan African’s food security.

Like most Sub-Saharan  African countries, Cameroon’s economy is highly dependent on agriculture for the vitality of its growth process, contributing 22.2% to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs Approximately 45% of the active population (NIS, 2016). Cameroon’s agriculture is mainly carried out by small holder farmers who control about 70% of total farmland (Yengoh and Ardo, 2014). Small family farms account for about 95% of food products and retain approximately 80% for home consumption (Menghoyi, 2018).

As part of Economic Recovery strategy, the government of Cameroon promotes the adoption of technologies in the agricultural sector. The creation of agricultural research centers such as the Institute de la Recherche Agronomique (IRA) Bambui in the North West Region and the provision of farm equipment through the Agricultural Mechanization Study and Experimentation Centre (CEENEMA) are some examples.   Adopting technologies in the agricultural sector tends to raise output and reduces average cost of production which in turn results in substantial gains in farm income (Challa and Tilahun, 2014).   In other words adoption of agricultural technologies is associated with higher earnings and lower poverty; improved nutritional status; lower staple food prices; increased employment opportunities‟ as well as earnings for landless labourers (Kasirye, 2010).   In fact, adoption of agricultural technologies is believed to be a major factor in the success of the Green Revolution experienced by Asian Countries (Ravallion and Chen, 2004; Kasirye, 2010).

New technologies pertaining to agricultural development keep popping up every day and are introduced to farmers for the improvement of their practices.  Nevertheless adoption rates in Cameroon have been low and lagging behind other regions of the world (World Bank, 2008). This study examines the underlying   factors that determine the adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West region of Cameroon. It considers socio-economic factors as well as other dynamics that intersect to affect farmer’s adoption of technologies. The study focuses on two main technologies that have been employed in recent time by farmers namely the use of improved seeds and chemical input such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Accordingly;  the  study  primarily  focuses  on  answering  the  following  basic  research questions:

1.3     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

It involves the questions the researcher seeks to provide answers to by the end of the study. There are two types of research questions which are the general and the specific research questions.

1.3.1   Main Research Question

It seeks to provide a broader answer to the issue under investigation. The main research question for this study is as follows:

– What are the socio-economic drivers of agricultural technology adoption in the North West Region of Cameroon?

1.3.2    Specific Research Questions

These are questions which seek to provide answers to particular or sub–aspects of the study. This study sought to answer the following specific research questions

–  How does Age of farmer affect the adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region?

– How does gender affect the adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region?

– To  what  extent  do  years  of  formal  education  affect  the  adoption  of  agricultural technologies in the North West Region?

– To what extent does total farm size affect the adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region?

–  How does off–farm income influence adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region?

1.4   RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Research objectives indicate the end products that the study seeks to achieve. There are two types which include the general and the specific research objectives.

1.4.1   Main Research Objectives

It represents the broad aim or overall objective the study seeks to achieve. The main research objective of this study is as follows

–  To determine the range of socio-economic drivers of agricultural technology adoption in the North West Region of Cameroon.

1.4.2    Specific Objectives

These are sub-objectives through which the broader or major objective is attained. The specific objectives of this study include the following:

–  To  assess  the  extent  to  which  age  of  farmer  influence  adoption  of  agricultural technologies in the North West Region.

–   To examine the role of gender in adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region.

–  To  determine  the  effect  of  years  of  formal  education  on  adoption  of  agricultural technologies in the North West Region.

– To evaluate the effect of total farm size on adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region.

– To explain the effect of off-farm income on adoption of agricultural technologies in the North West Region.