Cocoa is a major crop and income source for most farmers and rural households in the Centre, South and South-West regions of Cameroon, where cocoa is generally produced in agroforestry systems. In this country, cocoa-based agroforestry systems (CBAFS) are undergoing multiple changes alongside the rapid changes underway in the natural, economic and socio-political conditions. This study—carried out in the Akongo subregion in central Cameroon—was designed to gain insight into the CBAFS trends and dynamics in the light of those multiple changes. This semi-structured socioeconomic survey involved interviews and direct observations at plot, farm, household and village scales. Overall, forty cocoa growers from ten villages were interviewed and then fifteen cocoa plots were characterized on the basis of the survey findings. They revealed that cocoa was the major crop in this study area, with cocoa plantations occupying three quarters of the total farming area. Three types of CBAFS were identified, which differed according to their vegetation structure, management practices and age of the plantations. Dynamics affecting the structural characteristics and the spatial extension of these systems emerged and were intimately linked to the dynamics of the cocoa farmer population in relation to their context.

中文翻译：

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喀麦隆中部 Akongo 次区域基于可可的农林业系统动态和趋势

可可是喀麦隆中部、南部和西南部地区大多数农民和农村家庭的主要作物和收入来源，可可通常在农林业系统中生产。在这个国家，随着自然、经济和社会政治条件的快速变化，以可可为基础的农林业系统 (CBAFS) 正在经历多重变化。这项研究在喀麦隆中部的 Akongo 次区域进行，旨在根据这些多重变化深入了解 CBAFS 趋势和动态。这种半结构化的社会经济调查包括在地块、农场、家庭和村庄范围内的访谈和直接观察。总体而言，采访了来自 10 个村庄的 40 名可可种植者，然后根据调查结果对 15 块可可地块进行了表征。他们透露，可可是该研究区的主要作物，可可种植园占总种植面积的四分之三。确定了三种类型的 CBAFS，它们因植被结构、管理实践和人工林年龄而异。影响这些系统的结构特征和空间扩展的动态出现了，并与可可种植者人口的动态与其背景密切相关。