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The Influence of Farmers’ Strategies on Local Practices, Knowledge, and Varietal Diversity of the Safou Tree (Dacryodes edulis) in Western Cameroon

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Abstract

Highly valued for its edible fruits, the safou tree, Dacryodes edulis, is a major component of farming systems in Central Africa. In Cameroon, the species has drawn much attention since the 1990s because of its market potential. Among other fruit tree species, safou trees are integrated within cocoa-coffee agroforests as a means of diversification. In Western Cameroon, farmers’ strategies for safou production and commercialization are influenced by a gradient of the species’ market integration. Based on semi-structured interviews with farmers and inventories of trees on their farms, this ethnoecological study addresses the relationship between the market integration of production areas, farmers’ agricultural practices, and the distribution of local varieties. Interviews revealed that farmers in high-cultivation areas use more diversified planting techniques, but select and use similar planting material. At the local scale, we found a wide range of varieties, defined according to a combination of selected fruit traits. Varieties appearing at multiple sites were also the ones with the most desirable sets of characteristics. The agricultural strategies depicted help us to understand the specificities of the ongoing market integration of indigenous species in the tropics.

Le safoutier, Dacryodes edulis, est l’un des arbres fruitiers les plus présents dans les systèmes de culture d’Afrique Centrale, et suscite un intérêt commercial fort depuis une vingtaine d’années au Cameroun. Au côté d’autres espèces fruitières, des safoutiers sont intégrés dans les agroforêts à caféiers ou cacaoyers comme éléments de diversification. Dans la région Ouest du Cameroun, les stratégies des cultivateurs pour la production et la commercialisation des safous sont influencées par leur intégration au marché. A partir d’entretiens avec des cultivateurs et d’inventaires dans leurs champs, la relation entre le degré d’intégration de la culture dans le marché local, les pratiques agricoles et la distribution des variétés locales a été étudiée selon une approche ethnoécologique. Les entretiens avec les cultivateurs ont mis en évidence une augmentation des stratégies de plantation dans les sites les plus productifs, même si le matériel planté y est encore similaire. La diversité des variétés, définies à partir d’une sélection de traits des fruits, est localement élevée. Les variétés présentes dans plusieurs sites sont aussi celles avec les combinaisons de caractères les plus appréciées. Les stratégies agricoles déployées peuvent nous aider à comprendre les spécificités de l’intégration au marché des espèces indigènes tropicales.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Olga Spellman (Bioversity International) for copyediting of this paper and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

Funding

This project has been supported by Agropolis Fondation under the reference ID 1605-042 through the «Investissements d’avenir» program (Labex Agro:ANR-10-LABX-0001-01), under the frame of I-SITE MUSE (ANR-16-IDEX-0006), by the CGIAR Fund Donors and by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees, and Agroforestry.

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  1. UMR GRED (Gouvernance, Risque, Environnement, Développement), IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement), Université Paul Valéry, Route de Mende, Site Saint Charles, F-34199, Montpellier, France

    Aurore Rimlinger & S. M. Carrière

  2. Université Montpellier, UMR DIADE, IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement), 911 Avenue Agropolis, F-34394, Montpellier, France

    Aurore Rimlinger & Jérôme Duminil

  3. Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, Forestry Department, University of Dschang, BP 222, Dschang, Cameroon

    Marie-Louise Avana & Aurélien Nguegang

  4. Forest Genetic Resources and Restoration Team, Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa, Bioversity International, P.O. Box 2008, Messa, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Jérôme Duminil

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  1. Aurore Rimlinger
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Rimlinger, A., Carrière, S.M., Avana, ML. et al. The Influence of Farmers’ Strategies on Local Practices, Knowledge, and Varietal Diversity of the Safou Tree (Dacryodes edulis) in Western Cameroon. Econ Bot 73, 249–264 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-019-09455-2

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