ABSTRACT

Agriculture has undergone significant changes throughout history, as a result of advancement in technology and current trends. These changes have motivated the development of new products and production processes, which, in turn, represent a development in the industry The population of Melong due to the advancement in agricultural innovation, try to follow the recent trend or forms of agricultural innovation which they have little or no background knowledge on its long term and short term effects.The aim of this study is to examine how climate innovated adaptations has influence agriculture in Melong community Cameroon. The main hypothesis for this study is climate innovation adaptation have a positive influence on agriculture in Melong. The study adopted a descriptive research design in which different methods and tools were used to collect data from the field.

A random sample of 50 respondents was conducted using questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented in the form of graphs, figures, tables and pictures The results of the study revealed that mixed cropping is the most common farming technique, with a diverse range of farm sizes and farming areas. Medium-sized landholdings (3-4 hectares) are prevalent, alongside larger- scale commercial farms and smaller subsistence farms. Organic fertilizers are widely used (48%) for their environmental benefits and soil health improvement, while 14% of respondents use inorganic fertilizers and 12% use both. the use of improved seeds (66%) and local seeds (89%), indicating recognition of their benefits. While the use of fertilizers received less approval (66%), organic manure was favored by 72% of respondents. Mixed cropping was highly endorsed (80%), highlighting the perceived advantages of diversification, whereas mono-cropping faced resistance (85%). This results show that climate innovation adaptation has a positive influence on agriculture.

It was recommended that Farmers in Melong should take full advantage of subsidized inputs such as fertilizers and seeds to enhance agricultural productivity. They should be encouraged to adopt modern farming techniques to maximize the benefits of these inputs, the Government should implement policies and programs that support climate-resilient agriculture, including promoting the adoption of resilient crop varieties and sustainable farming practices. Farmers in Melong should take full advantage of subsidized inputs such as fertilizers and seeds to enhance agricultural productivity, the government should ensure the effective and equitable distribution of subsidized inputs to rural farming communities.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1. The Research Context

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Innovation can be termed as the process by which an idea or invention is changed into a good or service thereby creating value (Kantor, 2020). With regard to the current study, the term only implies to technological innovation and no other innovation types.   From the many definitions, technological innovation refers to the scientific and system based process. The process has several influencing factors that affect or are influenced by the internal strengths of the firm which are its technological learning ability and networking capabilities within the external environment. It would harness the existing resources and expand the firm’s innovation prospects with the result being the production of improved, new products or even production process (Goh, 2022). Agriculture offers food security to any economy in the world and is also a source of livelihood for a large population. The Agricultural Sector Development Strategy Report (2010) showed that the agricultural sector contributed 25% directly to GDP annually and another 26% indirectly, contributed to 65% of total exports from the country and provided informal employment up to 70% in the rural England. More recent trends show that agriculture contributes  about  30% to  GDP,  80% to  national  employment  which  is  mostly informal employment (Business Review, 2015). The sector is comprised of six main sub-sectors, these are crops, food crops, livestock, fisheries, horticulture and forestry and the main factors of production include land, water and institutions such as cooperatives. The major sub-sector is the horticulture one contributing 33% to agricultural GDP and 55% of agricultural exports.

The issues of institutional innovation remain a critical dimension of agricultural adaptation to climate variability and change. Following Agrawal (2018), we argue that if the welfare of smallholder farmers is to be addressed effectively by technological innovation on demand, institutions play a significant role in enhancing the climate adaptation practices. Institutional dimensions of climate adaptation, according to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), include strategic integration of climatic information into technological innovation, planning, decision-making, and implementation (Pachauri et al., 2014). Humanly created formal (e.g., extension services, sectoral offices, and ministries) and informal (such as local clubs, saving groups, farmers organizations, and local natural resource users’ committees), institutions shape social and individual expectations, interactions, and behavior. Institutions also play a critical role in interpreting highly science-centric and abstract attributes of climate change science to usable forms (O’Riordan and Jordan,1999) and provide critical input to drive location-specific agricultural innovations (Chhetri et al., 2012). For institutions to operate effectively, there is a need for interactions between public (administrative units), private firms (business), and civic (NGOs) institutions (Agrawal, 2018) as well as a meaningful collective action among those that have heterogeneity in terms of scale and operational contexts (Adger et al., 2019).

Despite the importance accorded to the role of institutions in facilitating adaptation to changing climate, there is a dearth of research on how the challenges of responding to emerging climatic threats in agriculture induce new forms of institutional arrangement. Stakeholders working on adaptation policies and practices need to recognize the crucial role of institutions in determining the adoption of best technologies and practices. In this paper, we analyze the role of institutions, operating at multiple levels, in shaping the outcomes of Nepal’s Climate Smart Village (CSV). Strategically designed to generate evidence on the application of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies, CSV programs are designed to build resilient agricultural systems in Nepal. In the CSV approach, participating farmers are piloting innovations that are Nutrient Smart, Water Smart, Crop Smart, Information Smart, Energy Smart, and Future Smart involving a range of actors, interactions, and processes within them. Using the case of CSV, this paper illustrates how the institutional context has influenced the wider adoption of CSA technologies and practices in Nepal, a country highly vulnerable to climate variability and change (Khatri, 2022).

Because 70% of sub-Saharan African populations are smallholder farmers, agricultural growth induced by higher productivity is widely viewed as one of the region’s main paths to long-term economic development (Collier and Dercon, 2020; Diao et al., 2017). Among the potential drivers of agricultural productivity, adoption of agricultural innovations is important. This is because agricultural innovations are developed to increase farm yields, improve quality of farm produce, increase farmers’ income, and ensure food security. From an environmental standpoint, agricultural innovation can help improve soil qualities and reduce nutrient loss to leaching and erosion. It can also help to enhance knowledge of sustainable resource management  and  reduce  the net  emission  of  greenhouse  gases.  Agricultural  innovations initiated by the International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) in the 1960s focused exclusively on the production of improved crop varieties and helped transform agricultural practices and rural economies across Asia and Latin America (Bornstein, 2015). The success of these varieties was characterized as the Green Revolution, which began with the rice and wheat improvement research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, and at the International Center for Wheat and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT), Mexico, where Norman Borlaug, who is regarded as the father of the Green Revolution, was the chief breeder (Veronicah, 2018).

Agriculture is the corner stone of the Cameroonian economy. It generates the highest number of employments (more than 60% of both skilled and unskilled), ensures national food security, contributes enormously to Cameroon’s GDP and foreign earnings and, above all, provides raw materials to the industrial sector, which is still in its infant stage. The importance of agriculture to the economy of the country was recognized even before independence orating state of agro- pastoral infrastructure in Cameroon is a call for concern (Fonjong, 2018)

Cameroon will be won or lost in the agricultural sector. This is because agriculture plays a prime role in the economy of the country. Although this role in the economy is critical, the current state of agricultural infrastructure does not match with government’s high-sounding policy of promoting agricultural development. From the forgotten story of agricultural shows after 1985, to the closure or near neglect of major agro-pastoral research  and technical institutions in the country, the future of agriculture in Cameroon is bleak and raises a lot of questions. Yet, the Ministry of Agriculture is one of the ministries with a lion’s share of the national budget. This paper argues that the fight against poverty and the drive towards food sufficiency by the State remains a fallacy given the collapsing state of agro-pastoral infrastructures in the country. Using case study analysis, from a province whose population is predominantly rural, the paper revisits the state of these infrastructures in the North West Province, and concludes that the change in government policies in the sector can create a negative multiplier effects on the future use of innovations in the country with far reaching consequences on farmer’s productivity and farm outputs. The reversal of this trend, the author notes, requires short and long-term measures that go beyond State action alone

1.2 Location of the Study Area

The community of Melong in the Moungo department, Littoral region and whose capital bears the same name was created in 1962 by Decree No. 62/17 of 12/26/1962.  It covers an area of about 497 km2 and has a population of approximately 102,000 souls (data from the ISS) spread across 40 villages and the urban perimeter (11 neighborhoods).  It is limited: To the North by the community of Santchou; To the North-West by the community of Nguti located in the

South-West region; To the West by the Municipality of Bangem; To the South-West by the community of Nkongsamba; To the South East by the community of Baré; To the East by the Nkam River and the community of Kékem in the Western region. (Mai 2016)

1.2.1. Physical background of the study area

1.2.1.1. Climate

The community of Melong is subject to to a Guinean type equatorial climate. The climate is marked by two rainy seasons, one of which is from June 20 to November 15 and a small one which goes from March 20 to April 15 and two dry seasons going from 20 November to March

15 for the large one and from April 20 to May 15 for the small one. The rainfall of the community is of the order of 2350 mm of rain per year with a maximum of precipitation in August and September (Molua and Lambi, 2006). The permanent humidity of the climate is favored by the proximity of the Atlantic. Temperatures are low and can drop to 10oc at the top of the mountains. The thermal amplitude generally remains low. During the raining season the climate conditions are good for the cultivation of crops here because the soil are moist and favorable for plant growth but crops can easily get bad if there is excess water in the land.