Abstract

Agriculture plays an important role in the economies of most developing countries. This study was aimed at examining the negative and positive impacts as well as the socio-economic impacts on the inhabitants of Bombe Bakudu-Relevant data for the study and secondary sources. Primary and secondary sources.

Primary data, was obtained through interviews and the administration questionnaires. Secondary data was gotten through the review of existing literature on the subject. Data. Collected was analysed using simple descriptive statistics involving the use of tables, charts, percentages and quantitative analysis included the chi-square statistical test which was used particularly to test the hypothesis. The results of the findings revealed that agriculture greatly impact the inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu positive as the activity is their main source of living.

Practiced by almost all and negative though to a lesser extent because most of the farmers have limited education and so are ignorant of the activities carry out and how they will be affected by such activities in a long run. To improve on agriculture in the area, farmers need to be educated on applying natural fertilizers, creating butter zones, keeping animals in fences and adopting new farming systems so as minimize agricultural problems.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The word agriculture comes from two Latin words ager meaning “field” and cultura meaning “growing. Agriculture is the cultivation of crops and breeding of animals, plants, fiber, and biofuel, medicinal plants other products use to sustain and enhance life. Agriculture can be in large scale or small scale or small scale carried out by individuals or groups of people, depending on whether the product is for family consumption or for commercial purposes. There are different types of agriculture practices. They include: plantation agriculture, intensive agriculture, mixed agriculture, extensive agriculture and subsistence agriculture and commercial which depends on the type of crops cultivated and the purpose for their cultivation. Agriculture products are harvested seasonally and some after a few years. The activity requires mechanisation in areas where factors favouring are limited and topography is gentle.

Agriculture has been to a large extended and is still the main element in the world’s economy. The activity uses about 1/3 of the total land and employs 55% of the world’s population (Banyui 2001). Agriculture in Europe and North America is mostly for commercial purposes as opposed to that of rural areas which is highly subsistence and requires small capital.

Agriculture is the main economic activity in Africa and it employs more than half of the working population. The introduction of commercial agriculture in Africa was because mercantilist rulers in the 16th and 17th century who believed that the accumulation of wealth through a favourable balance of trade was the best way to ensure power. Thus, European countries started to colonies territories in Africa. They took advantage of resources in the territories cultivating on fertile soils and exporting the products to their home countries (learner 1959). Today, agriculture is practiced in almost all of Africa and plays an important role in socio-economic development as farm to market roads are constructed alongside hospital, and schools.

Despite the benefits of agriculture, there also exit some negative impacts which generate agriculture emerges. These includes loss of biodiversity, climate change and soils degradation. This make agriculture to be considered a “mixed blessing”.

Cameroon is one of the African countries where agriculture is highly practiced. The activity in the country is favored by the presence of landscape which includes the savanna and the semi-arid Sahel in the northern parts and tropical forest in the southern and central forest, the volcanic mountains in the west, fertile soils, and good climatic conditions.

Agriculture in the country started even before the colonial period but was locally done and local crops cultivated were for consumption only. With the arrival of colonial masters in the country in 1884 when Cameroon became a German protectorate colony, crops like; banana, cocoa, coffee, rubber and palm were introduced. These crops were cultivated in the country alongside maize, potatoes, beans, yams, cassava, mangoes, melon, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cotton, cabbage, pineapples, groundnuts, flower and tea. Market gardening is practiced and animals domesticated which includes; goats and pig.

Today agriculture employs about 70% of the working population and is the back bone of the country’s economy. The activity continuously grows in the country as the government through the ministry of agriculture and Non-governmental organisation (NGOs) encourage farmers. The efforts being put up by the government in enhancing agriculture dates for back since the 1970s with extension of the green revolution in Cameroon to encourage agricultural technologies to fight against food shortages in third world countries.

There are agricultural institutions like Ecole Families Agricoles which is vocational training schools established by community associations and other organisations to promote the training if youths on agriculture. There is also an institute of Agriculture Research For Development (IRAD) which is an institute for agriculture research with branches in some regions of the country. Non- Governmental Organisation organise seminars educating farmers (Amungwa,2012).

Agriculture contributes about 42% of Cameroons Gross National Products (GNP) in 1998. Agriculture also contribute to the attainment of food security and export production to generate the foreign exchange to pay off Cameroon’s debt and meet up with imports needed.

Bombe bakundu is a sub division found in the meme division in the south west region of Cameroon with agriculture being the main economic of the inhabitants. Bombe bakundu has a vast land for the cultivation of crops and hills which favour the rearing of activity though the topography is not highly favourable, thus most of the farms are on hill sides.

The different farming types practiced in Bombe bakundu includes; subsistence agriculture, mixed agriculture, commercial agriculture, and extensive agriculture. These types of agriculture are practiced by individuals on both the small scale and large scale of export. The cultivation of crops, market gardening is also practiced in the division though on a small scale.

The different types of crops cultivated in Bombe bakundu includes; maize, yam, plantain, cocoyam, tomatoes, pepper, mangoes, pear, sugarcane, pineapple, red cola nut. Animals reared, pigs, goats, and fowls.

Agriculture is practice with the local tools like; cutlasses, to cut down trees and hoes in tilling the soils, only a small part of agriculture is mechanized in the division. Food production in bombe bakundu is for family consumption and for commercial purposes like cotton. Food crops are sold in local weekly markets in bombe and to buyers who comes from kumba and other regions of the country. Money gotten from the sales of agricultural produces in bombe bakundu is used as capital for further production and for family maintenance.

There is the presence of Non-Government Organisation (NGOs) in bombe like MEFACIG resources and training centre which carries out research, encourage and educate farmers on the different farming’s practices. There is also BERUDA, which encourages especially the old and people who are not financially strong to work, members of BERUDA have gardens in the small villages in Bombe. With the presence of these organisation in collaborations with efforts bt government, the activity is favoured in bombe bakundu.

Problems Of Statement.

Agriculture us generally practiced in bombe bakundu and has been the main source of income to the inhabitants. Agriculture has potentials to promote socio-economic development and impacts the livelihood of the inhabitants of bombe bakundu positively. Bur there have been some controversies and problems impacting the inhabitants posed by agriculture. Agriculture in Bombe Bakundu has brought about pollution and loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity is been destroyed as trees are cut down to create land for agriculture. Problems are generated in bombe bakundu as agrochemicals are being applied to crops and results in polluting the soils and degrading the environment. Smoke gotten from burning of the farms pollutes the air and contributes in increasing the carbon cotent in the amosphere thus increasing global warming. All these problems are generated because agriculture affects the inhabitants negatively.

As agriculture is encouraged in the bombe bakundu suitable land is made limited for the construction of houses and thus, inhabitants are forced to settle in hill sides thus exposing themselves to landslide risk. Land conflict also exists as inhabitant’s quarrel over land for agriculture.

Animals domesticated at times destroy people’s property especially in the dry season. The ranch owners in most cases do not compensate inhabitants. This leads to conflicts between farmers and grazers. Also, most of the roads are seasonal and usually get bad as big vehicles go into the interior to transport food to the market. Apart from these problems as regards the socio-economic impacts of agriculture on the inhabitants of bombe, this study will strive to evaluate the socio-economic impacts of agriculture in the south west region and bombe bakundu. In doing so, the study attempts to investigate problems facing agriculture and benefits if agriculture to the inhabitants of Bombe.

Research Objectives.

The main objectives of this study are to assess the socio-economic impacts of agriculture in bombe bakundu.

To achieve this, the following specific objectives have been envisaged.

1. To examine the nature of agriculture in bombe bakundu.
2. To evaluate the benefits of agriculture on the people of Bombe Bakundu.
3. To investigate the problems posed by agriculture on the people of Bombe Bakundu and south west region in general.

Hypothesis

H1, Agriculture has an impact on the inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu negatively.

Ho, Agriculture does not impact the lives of the inhabitants of bombe bakundu and south west region negatively.