Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 3/07
The use of compost for the cultivation of foodstuff crops and vegetables in the villages surrounding Yaoundé (Cameroon): descriptive and production function approaches of analysis
Achille Jean Jaza Folefack
Ministry of Agriculture, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Abstract
This paper analyzes the main differences existing between compost
users and non-compost users for the cultivation of foodstuff crops and
vegetables in the villages surrounding Yaoundé (Cameroon). Descriptive
field results show that compost users get more benefits than
non-compost users. For instance, because compost already contains
organic matter like animal manure, compost users need less animal
manure as compared to non-compost users. Furthermore, the use of
compost leads to lower the crop’s irrigation requirements and to
increase the crop yields from 4 to 42% depending on crop type. However,
compost farms are more labour demanding and the compost rates applied
in the field are too high from standard requirements. The Cobb-Douglas
production elasticities show that the most productive input is compost
in the compost users group and mineral fertilizer in the non-compost
users group. Thus, the use of compost is agronomically advantageous for
farmers living in the villages surrounding Yaoundé.
Keywords: compost, mineral fertilizer, compost users, non-compost users, Cobb-Douglas function, production elasticities
JEL: C01, N57, Q16, Q18, Q53, Q58, R15
Vol. 46 (2007), No. 3: 221-239