Structure of Vegetables Farming and Farmer’s Perception of Soil and Water Degradation in Two Periurban Areas in Yaounde Cameroon

Abstract

Vegetable farming is an activity sensitive to the dynamism of the population and to the level of intensification in the use of soil resources. A study was conducted in the peri-urban zones of Yaoundé to present the socioeconomic characteristics of vegetable farming and the farmers’ perception of soil and water degradation as a result of this activity. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to this purpose in 2016 in two vegetable farming sites in Yaoundé, namely Nkolbisson and Nkolondom III. Results showed that most vegetable farmers from both sites (around 75%) lack training in agriculture while 74 and 90 didn’t benefit from training on management of pesticides. Spreading and landfilling of amendments are the two most popular ways of applying fertilizers. In fact, while the majority (35.4%) of these fertilizers is applied at planting time, the minority (4.9%) is applied several months before planting. Besides young plots are more exploited (52.4% and 30%) compared to older ones (2.4% and 5%) in Nkolondom III and Nkolbisson respectively, as they are more responsive to fertilizer application. As consequence, high rates of fertilizers are applied to the oldest farms. As for irrigation water, it is altogether polluted. Base on the above, the farmers’ perception of degradation is seen through the degradation of soils properties with time in the order of 14.3% to 60% and 15% to 44% at Nkolbisson and Nkolondom III respectively resulting in a gradual decrease of crop production (up to 50%). It is also seen through the polluted produce obtained from irrigation and cleaning water.