FEASIBILITY OF FARMER-MANAGED NURSERIES 181

Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 2006, Vol. 16, pp. 181–1901472-8028 $10© 2006 A B Academic Publishers—Printed in Great Britain

RESEARCH NOTE

FEASibiliTy OF FARmER-mANAgEd vEgETATivE pROpAgATiON NuRSERiES iN CAmEROON

ANN DEGRANDE*, CHARLY FACHEUX, CHIMÈNE MFOUMOU, PETER MBILE, ZAC TCHOUNDJEU AND EBENEZER ASAAH

World Agroforestry Centre, ICRAF-AHT, P.O. Box 16 317, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Email: a.degrande@cgiar.org

AbSTRACT

ICRAF and partners in West and Central Africa have been implementing a participatory tree domestication project since 1998. The project aims to diversify smallholder farming systems through the cultivation of indigenous trees to increase income and reduce slash-and-burn practices. Participatory evaluation of vegetative propagation techniques with farmers in pilot sites of the humid tropics of Cameroon indicates that with training and technical backstopping, farmers are able to propagate trees of their choice using rooting of cuttings and marcotts. This paper analyses the costs of plant production and highlights why many nurseries are running well below their potential. The authors recommend further efforts to simplify the methods, extend the training of nursery staff and promote marketing and market research.

iNTROduCTiON

ICRAF and partners in West and Central Africa have been implementing a participatory tree domestication project since 1998. The project aims to diversify smallholder farming systems through the cultivation of indigenous trees to increase income and reduce slash-and-burn practices (Tchoundjeu et al., 1999). Vegetative propagation, as a quick and relative straightforward technique to select, capture and multiply desirable traits in species, plays an important role in the domestication process (Tchoundjeu et al., 1997). Therefore, developing techniques for rooting juvenile and mature plant material was one of the key activities. On-station experiments on rooting of juvenile cuttings in low-cost non-mist propagators (Leakey et al., 1990; Tchoundjeu et al., 1997; Mbile et al., 2004) have generated encouraging results for Dacryodes edulis, Irvingia gabonensis, Ricinodendron heudelotii, Gnetum africanum, Prunus africana and Pausinystalia johimbe (Tchoundjeu et al., 1999; Tchoundjeu et al., 2002a,

*Corresponding authorFirst submitted 7.1.05; revised version accepted as a Research Note 21.7.05

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Tchoundjeu et al., 2002b; Mialoundama et al., 2002). In addition, air layering, a method of propagating mature material that may fruit at an early age, has been successful for most of these species (Leakey and Tchoundjeu, 2001). Despite this, the technologies need to be tested by farmers, implemented and adapted to the conditions prevailing in rural areas if wider adoption is to be expected. Vegetative propagation techniques have been under farmer evaluation and adaptation in pilot villages of southern Cameroon. Farmers have been trained in the different techniques and their propagation skills have been continuously upgraded through technical assistance and follow-up from research and extension services. Monitoring and evaluation has been done through informal discussions with farmers – with the numbers of plants produced and sold recorded once a year.

This research note analyses the costs of setting up and running a vegetative propagation unit and identifies major bottlenecks in running the nursery. This participatory evaluation should guide future research and development in vegetative propagation and facilitate the scaling-up of tree domestication in West and Central Africa.

Nursery materials

The prototype of a farmer-managed vegetative propagation unit, as schematised in Figure 1, consists of two non-mist propagators and a stock plant area of about 200 plants for rooting of cuttings. If the farmers also engage in air layering, a giant propagator or humidity chamber for the weaning of rooted marcotts is added. The propagators are protected by a shed with a corrugated zinc roof, though traditional thatches have proven to be a valuable alternative. The shed for acclimatisation of rooted plantlets while waiting transplantation in the field or sales is covered with palm tree leaves. A fence made of wooden pegs and bamboo to avoid intrusion by animals, completes the nursery set-up.

Costs of Nursery Construction

The nursery set-up as described above has a total initial cost of 1,100,0001 francs CFA (2100 USD; Table 1). Over a 5–year period (Fig 2) the infrastructure amounts to nearly half of the total costs, but almost half of these are for materials such as stones, sand, poles, etc. that can be collected locally in rural areas. The other major cost – roughly one third of the total – is for labour – with nearly 50 person-days required for the establishment of the nursery and a further 150 person-days per year required for rooting cuttings and marcotts, and general nursery management.

1Editor's Note: All figures have been rounded to 1 or 2 significant figures.

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TABLE 1

Cost of nursery infrastructure and equipment

Nursery infrastructure and equipment Cost (CFA*)

Land (500 m2) 22,000 Stock plant area 300,000 Fence 77,000 Shed 210,000 Non-mist propagators (3) 250,000 Humidity chamber (1) 27,000 Nursery equipment/tools(watering can, cutlass, sprayer, knife,wheelbarrow, ladder, bucket, hoe, etc.) 190,000

Total – rounded to 2 sig.fig. 1,100,000

*1 USD = 520 CFASource: Mfoumou 2002

Figure 1 Prototype of a vegetative propagation unit, as developed by ICRAF and partners in Cameroon

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Annual Running Costs

1) Rooting of cuttings

Total running costs (labour and inputs) depend on the species propagated, since the rates of rooting and survival of cuttings vary between species. In the analysis, 3 species were considered: Dacryodes edulis (African plum), Ricinodendron heudelotii (njansang) and Irvingia gabonensis (bush mango). Their rooting and survival rates are summarised in Table 2.

Total annual costs for the rooting of cuttings, as shown in Table 3, is 86,000 francs CFA (170 USD). However, the only external cost in the rooting of cuttings is the cost for polythene bags. Black soil to fill the pots constitutes over 25% of the running costs, but is readily available and mostly free of charge in rural areas of the forest zone. Total labour costs amount to 29,000 francs CFA, the equivalent of 24 person-days per year. This however excludes the nursery maintenance costs, which will be analysed separately.

2) Marcotting

For the purpose of the present analysis, only marcotts of Dacryodes edulis were considered, because rooting and survival rates for marcotts of Irvingia gabonensis and Ricinodendron heudelotii are still very low and therefore not practised by farmers. Marcotts are generally set only once a year and the humidity chamber can take a maximum of 100 marcotts. Taking into consideration rooting percentage (60%) and survival rate (85%) for marcotts of Dacryodes edulis, 167 marcotts have to be set to obtain 85 marcotts after weaning. Marcotting under

Figure 2 Distribution of the discounted costs (i = 20%) in a vegetative propagation unit over a 5-year period

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2A standard non-mist propagator for rooting consists of 3 compartments of 1m × 1m each; each species occupies 1 compartment. There are 2 non-mist propagators for rooting and 1 for weaning of cuttings.3 Total number of cuttings set for Dacryodes edulis = 70 * 2 compartments * 4 cycles = 5604Total number of cuttings produced for Dacryodes edulis = 560 * 90% rooting * 80% survival = 403.

TABLE 2

Rates of rooting and survival of cuttings

Species Number Rooting Duration of Number Survival Total Total of cuttings % 1 rooting of % number number per cycle rooting after of of compart- (weeks) cycles weaning cuttings cuttings ment2 per set produced year per per year year

Dacryodes edulis 70 90 10 4 80 5603 4034 Irvingia gabonensis 100 80 20 2 65 400 210 Ricinodendron heudelotii 70 90 7 6 80 840 605

Source: Mialoundama et al., 2002 ; Avana et al., 2004

TABLE 3

Annual running costs for rooting of cuttings

Item Unit Unit cost (CFA) Number of units Cost (CFA)

Polythene bags (2 l) Piece 14 1580 22,000 Sand Wheelbarrow 500 22 11,000 Black soil Wheelbarrow 500 46 23,000 Fertilizer kg 270 4.74 1,000 Labour to set cuttings Person day 1200 16 19,000 Labour to evaluaterooting and potrooted cuttings Person day 1200 8 10,000

TOTAL COST 86,000

Source: Mfoumou 2002

these assumptions costs (Table 4) the farmers annually 58,000 francs CFA (113 USD). Almost half of these costs are for the plastic sheaths to wrap the rooting substrate. About 14 person-days are needed to set and harvest the marcotts, estimated at 16,000 francs CFA. This gives a cost of approximately 6700 francs CFA per marcott. – excluding the costs of nursery maintenance (see below).

3) Nursery maintenance

Daily nursery maintenance consists of cleaning the plastic cover of propagators

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(in- and outside), removing dead cuttings and leaves, checking water level, sprinkling cuttings with water and watering potted plants. Depending on the number of plants in the nursery, this may take approximately 2 hours a day. Activities that are carried out periodically (generally once a month) include weeding and applying phytosanitary measures in the nursery and stock plant area. This implies that, on a yearly basis, farmers spend approximately 100 person-days on general nursery management, estimated at 130,000 francs CFA (205 USD).

Field Experience: identifying bottlenecks

On-going participatory evaluation of vegetative propagation shows that farmers master the propagation techniques and produce cuttings and marcotts for personal use, and some even started selling. However, actual figures of production remain very much below capacity in most of the nurseries. For example, the nursery in Abondo, 40 km from the capital city Yaoundé, with the current infrastructure has a capacity of producing 1218 cuttings and 85 marcotts per year but produced only 265, 337 and 215 cuttings and 4, 10 and 3 marcotts in 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively. Similar production data were recorded in other pilot sites.

A number of reasons explain this discrepancy in nursery production.

– Insufficient availability of stock plant material. Rigorous management – including adequate pruning, fertilisation, phytosanitary measures and watering in the dry season – is required to maintain adequate stocks of juvenile material all the year round.

– Poor water level management. One of the major difficulties farmers face in using the non-mist propagator is water management (Mbile et al., 2004).

TABLE 4

Running costs for rooting of 85 marcotts of Dacryodes edulis

Item Unit Unit cost (CFA) Number of units Cost (CFA)

Sheath m 408 67 27,000 Rubber band piece 25 334 900 Polythene bags (10 l) Piece 41 100 4,000 Sand Wheelbarrow 500 7 3,500 Black soil Wheelbarrow 500 14 7,000 Fertilizer kg 270 0.6 100 Labour to set marcotts Person day 1200 6.78 8,000 Labour to evaluate Person day 1200 6.7 8,000rooting and potrooted marcotts

TOTAL COST – rounded to 2 sig.fig. 58,500

Source: Mfoumou 2002

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Whilst moisture is required for maintaining constant humidity levels, too much water leading to inundation of the rooting medium favours rotting of cuttings.

– Lower rooting and survival percentages. The rooting and survival percentages mentioned in Table 2 have been obtained in researcher-managed trials. Success rates will be lower under farmer management because of lower mastery of the techniques, lack of understanding of the underlying principles and less rigorous implementation of nursery techniques because of time, material or financial constraints. The situation is exacerbated if the nursery is managed by a group of farmers with different levels of skills and dedication. Records show that the average number of plants produced per group member decreases with increasing group size.

– Longer cycles. Table 2 shows the average duration of a rooting cycle under researcher-controlled trials for 3 species. In principle, 4 production cycles a year are possible for Dacryodes edulis, 2 for Irvingia gabonensis and 6 for Ricinodendron heudelotii. Obtaining these frequencies, however, necessitates good planning and organisational skills and does not take the onus of the farmers’ other activities into account.

– Lack of motivation or perspective. Farmers sometimes deliberately keep production below capacity because they perceive the benefits as long-term (especially if they do not yet have market perspectives for sale of plants) and prefer to invest in activities that yield immediate benefits. Since the techniques are new to farmers, they often lack confidence in the results and adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Some may prefer to start off small and gradually increase. Others may loose interest because their preferences in terms of species, techniques or tree traits are not adequately addressed.

– Constraints related to group characteristics. From the on going participatory research it has become clear that group dynamics and character (attitude towards collective action, leadership, group composition and functioning) are dominant determinants of the viability and sustainability of group nurseries. Four out of the nine pilot groups studied (Essomba, 2004) experienced serious drop out from members, decreasing membership from 15–20 in 1999 to merely 1–2 in 2004. Absence of a charismatic leader and lack of transparency in group management and benefit sharing often explain failure in nursery performance. Attendance at group activities is not strictly adhered to by all group members and is very dependent on actual workload and the perceived benefits of individuals. For example, during food crop planting and harvesting peaks, attendance is very low, slowing down the production of plants.

market perspectives of vegetative propagated trees

As access to a market is a prerequisite for a nursery to become a profitable enterprise, we explored the demand for vegetative propagated plants of Dacryodes edulis, Irvingia gabonensis and Ricinodendron heudelotii in neighbouring villages

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of one pilot site, Abondo and in Yaoundé. Findings (Mfoumou, 2002) indicate that 93% of the cocoa-farmers interviewed in the neighbourhood of Abondo were willing to buy cuttings and marcotts. Farmers aged between 20 and 55 years wanted to enlarge and diversify their cocoa farms by integrating local fruit trees. Older farmers were more reluctant to plant trees because of the time it will take the trees to bear fruits (15 to 25 years according to them); but the perspectives of having marcotts bearing fruits much earlier than seedlings generally captured their attention. Results of the survey (Mfoumou, 2002) in a number of Ministries in Yaoundé town show that 62% of the interviewed employees owned different types of farms in rural areas: cocoa- and coffee farms, banana and oil palm plantations, orchards and food crop fields, where they would like to integrate trees. Only 27% had been satisfied with the tree seedlings bought in urban nurseries before. Hence, the specificities of vegetative propagation through cuttings and air layering could well respond to customer’s expectations, such as early fructification and genetic conservation of fruit characteristics. It must be noted that this survey was exploratory and that eventually prices will be determinant knowing that most potential customers, especially farmers have never bought tree seedlings (of any species) before. It is also likely that the clients’ perceptions of the value of cuttings and marcotts might change as they become more aware of the advantages of vegetative propagated trees.

Currently, most vegetative propagation nurseries that are selling propagules charge prices of 500–1000 F CFA for cuttings and 2000–3000 F CFA for marcotts depending on the species.

CONCluSiON ANd RECOmmENdATiONS

Participatory evaluation of vegetative propagation techniques with farmers in pilot sites of the humid tropics of Cameroon indicates that with training and technical backstopping, farmers are able to propagate trees of their choice using rooting of cuttings and marcotts. However, further efforts focused on increasing productivity and quality in farmer nurseries are needed. These should modify the technology and equipment to make the nursery work simpler. For example, a simple anti-inundation control mechanism can be installed in the non-mist propagator to facilitate water level control (Mbile et al.,, 2004). A second set of actions should be aimed at the continuous upgrading of farmers’ technical skills – in plant stock management and control, in organisational and managerial skills, and in planning nursery activities – to increase the number of cycles for rooting of cuttings, etc. Nursery groups should be encouraged to develop tree domestication projects, specify quantifiable objectives and milestones, draw up a calendar of activities, etc. Strengthening the functioning of nursery groups in and demonstrating the equitable sharing of benefits may also motivate members and lead to increased production.

Exploratory studies have indicated a potential demand for improved germplasm in urban as well as in rural areas. Unfortunately, distribution pathways for

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seeds and seedlings in the forest zone of Cameroon are not well developed and farmers do not have the required information and skills to reach potential buyers. In response, ICRAF intends to assist managers of promising nurseries to develop business plans for their nurseries in 2005. Hopefully this will lead to the creation of profitable and self-sustaining tree nursery enterprises.

The prices that the majority of potential customers are willing to pay are too low to encourage nursery operators. However, about 20% of the potential customers said that they are willing to pay a higher price for marcotts with preferred characteristics that fruit early, provided that the quality can be guaranteed. Information campaigns and further research into the distribution and marketing of germplasm should accompany the further extension of vegetative propagation so that farmers reap the full benefits from the production and sale of their plants.

ACkNOwlEdgEmENTS

The authors would like to thank the pilot nursery groups for their availability during the numerous discussions that formed the basis of this study. A special thought of gratitude goes to Alain Tsobeng, Marie-Laure Mpeck and Thaddee Sado for the technical details and the stimulating discussions. The participatory tree domestication work would not have been possible without financial support from IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development; Italy), DFID (Department for International Development, UK), VVOB (Flemish Association for Co-operation and Technical Assistance, Belgium) and the Government of Cameroon.

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