Some fifteen women cocoa producers and processors from Makénéné in the Centre region are banking on agroecological practices to develop their farming activities. This was revealed during a SAILD visit on February 20, 2025 to assess their activities.
To improve their farming techniques and achieve higher yields in their cocoa plantations, some 15 women aged between 20 and 60, members of the DYPADEL (“Dynamic Participative for Local Development”) association, have benefited from training in agroecological practices. This is part of the support provided by the Support Service for Local Development Initiatives ( SAILD) as part of the project “Strengthening food security through the promotion of agroecology in Cameroon”, financed by the Agroecology Fund.
Classes are held on a weekly basis to enable the women to attend to their other occupations. Today, the women join the master trainer on a cocoa plantation.
Learning takes place in the local language. Madeleine Ngomi is one of the learners. She owns a two-hectare cocoa plantation. She started growing cocoa without any prior training. “I’ve been producing for years, but I can’t manage to sell 10 bags of cocoa a year after the whole harvest, for lack of knowledge” she admits.
Lower production costs
Today, thanks to this support, Madeleine has mastered a number of agroecological practices at her fingertips. “I no longer buy fungicides because I’ve learned to make them with natural inputs. All I have to do is mix garlic, black soap and red pepper with water. Since I’ve been washing the stems of the cocoa plants with this solution, the ants have reduced” she says. She continues: “I used to use herbicide to keep the field clean, not knowing that this chemical kills the taproots of cocoa plants. We were taught to clear the field and use the weeds to make fertilizer”.
In addition to mastering these agroecological practices, Ariane Dinago has gained self-confidence thanks to the training she received. “Without Dypadel and SAILD I wouldn’t have gone into this business. I wasn’t a cocoa farmer. The training enabled us to see that even women can hold a machete and be the head of a cocoa field” she admits.
The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to all those who had helped them benefit from this support. Their only wish now is that similar training courses be multiplied to enable them to produce good quality cocoa while respecting the environment.
- Sharon Maché
