[en] Landscape Ecological Survey of the Bipindi-Akom II ... - ITTO

the chain saw, the limited amount of available labour and the scarcity of new land within reach
of the village. More and more farmers are clearing young fallows for agricultural fields. They
plant groundnut and cucumber in association with coco-yam, cassava and maize. The total
surface of this rotational fallow system is less than ten hectares per farmer (pers. comm., M.
Yemefack, 1996).
NTFPs are a major source of food, construction materials, agricultural and household utensils,
medicines and cash for the local population of Southwest Cameroon. The gathering ofNTFPs is
for the Bantu population supplementary to agriculture. For Bakola it is the mainstay. Surveys on
NTFP collection have been carried out in the neighbouring Campo-Ma'an area and in the TCP
research area. Some 500 plant species were recorded in the TCP area alone that provided a total
of nearly 1200 different uses. The trade in NTFPs is an important source of income for the local
population. The most traded NTFPs in the TCP area are for the Bantu population: oil palm (Elaeis
guineensis), bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis) and the almond-like 'Njansang' (Ricinodendron
heudelotti). The Bakola collect and trade the fruits of the liana (Strophanthus gratus), honey and
several oil containing nuts (e.g. Panda oleosa and Poga oleosa) (Dounias, 1993; pers. comm.
J.F.W. van Dijk, 1996).
Next to subsistence agriculture, cacao is cultivated for cash revenues by mainly Bantu farmers and
small cacao plantations are found throughout the area. In general these plantations are not well
maintained due to continuing low world market prices. The devaluation of the Franc CFA in 1994
was an incentive for the production but still more than 50% of the cacao plantations remain
abandoned. Recently, industrial size oil palm, pineapple and banana plantations have been created
in the TCP area. Villagers who work and live in surrounding towns, appear to be the initiators of
this development.
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