General Information
· Main climates: Tropical Wet, upland at 600 m above sea, Tropical Wet and Dry, upland at 600 m above sea, Tropical Wet, Tropical Steppe and Semiarid
· Total land area: 46 540 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 280 km3
· Incoming water flow: - km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 1 395
· Main food consumed: Roots & tubers, Maize, Millet & sorghum, Fruits, Oil & fat
· Rice supply, 1999: 10.4 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
|
RICE |
|
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
22.67 |
11.04 |
16.00 |
20.00 |
|
Yield (kg/ha) |
4737 |
4999 |
3875 |
3400 |
|
Production (T t) |
107.3 |
55.19 |
62.00 |
68.00 |
|
Import (T t) |
47.75 |
90.28 |
124.1 |
NA |
|
Export (Tt) |
9.77 |
0.311 |
0.095 |
NA |
|
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
|
Population (M) |
9.97 |
11.47 |
13.18 |
NA |
|
Agr population (M) |
6.52 |
7.29 |
7.62 |
NA |
|
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
21 |
25 |
33 |
NA |
|
Fertilizer cons (T t) |
56.50 |
16.80 |
30.00 |
NA |
|
Agr tractor in use (units) |
600 |
508 |
500 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
Rice is planted mainly in the northern and northwestern provinces.
|
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
|
North |
70 |
|
Northwest |
30 |
In most cases, rice is planted twice yearly.
|
Cropping Season |
Planting |
Harvesting |
|
Main season |
5-6 |
10-12 |
|
Off-season |
1-2 |
5-6 |
Production Practices
The following figure shows the harvested areas from different ecologies during the last five years.
Upland rice is grown as a mono-crop or as in a mixture with other food crops following the slash-and-burn shifting cultivation almost without any application of chemical fertilizers and other ago-chemical. Rainfed rice production is practiced mainly by women on small plots. The irrigated rice production is most structure and initially well supported with mechanization and input supply. The support to irrigated rice production has been greatly reduced during the recent past. Rice-rice systems is generally practiced in irrigated areas. A number of improved rice varieties have been released for cultivation.
|
Variety Name |
Ecology |
Growth duration (days) |
|
B 21616-MR-57-1-3-1 |
Irrigated |
NA |
|
BKN 7033-3-3-323 |
Irrigated |
128 |
|
CICA 8 |
Irrigated |
130-135 |
|
CISADANE |
Irrigated |
140-145 |
|
I KONG PAO |
Irrigated |
115-120 |
|
IR 20 |
Irrigated |
120-125 |
|
IR 24 |
Irrigated |
NA |
|
IR 28 |
Irrigated |
NA |
|
ITA 212 |
Irrigated |
130-135 |
|
ITA 222 |
Irrigated |
130-135 |
|
ITA 300 |
Irrigated |
140 |
|
ITA 306 |
Irrigated |
125-130 |
|
JAYA |
Irrigated |
135-140 |
|
TAINAN 5 |
Irrigated |
NA |
|
TOX 3344 |
Irrigated |
NA |
|
IR 46 |
Irrigated/Rainfed lowland |
134 |
|
IR 7167-33-2-3 |
Irrigated/Rainfed lowland |
128 |
|
TS X 176 |
Rainfed lowland |
NA |
Transplanting is dominant method of crop establishment in irrigated areas. Land preparation was mechanized amd moderate to high rates of fertilizer application were generally applied to irrigated rice in the past. The following table shows the responses of rice to fertilizer application
|
Other information |
Test range (kg/ha) |
Control rate (kg/ha) |
Control yield (t/ha) |
Rate at Maximum yield (kg/ha) |
Maximum yield (t/ha) |
|
Nitrogen (N) |
|||||
|
Reported in 63, Logone station |
0-50 |
0 |
1.69 |
30 |
2.5 |
|
Reported in 84, Mbo plain, average of IR7167-33-2-3; ITA222 and IR54 |
0-100 |
0 |
4.36 |
60 |
5.99 |
|
Reported in 84, Mbo plain, variety CICA 8 |
0-120 |
0 |
1.71 |
120 |
4.7 |
|
Phosphorus (P2O5) |
|||||
|
Reported in 63, Logon |
0-60 |
0 |
1.69 |
60 |
1.91 |
|
Reported in 84, Mbo plain, variety IRAT 10 |
0-150 |
0 |
2.37 |
150 |
3.3 |
|
Potassium (K2O) |
|||||
|
Reported in 63, Logone |
0-60 |
0 |
1.69 |
60 |
1.81 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Cameroon. Following are the majors:
Low temperature during off-season in irrigated areas
Poor marketing systems
Deteriorating irrigation infrastructures
Recently, lack of input supply and credit due to reorganization of the public sectors
Weak research support
The following table shows the rice production costs.
|
Other information |
Yield (t/ha) |
Cost ($/ha) |
Cost ($/t) |
|
87-89, Irrigated rice, Semery |
5 |
765 |
153 |
|
87-89, Irrigated rice, Soderim |
4.3 |
953 |
222 |
|
87-89, Irrigated rice, Undva |
3.85 |
529 |
137 |
Sustainable rice production depend greatly on appropriate policy to provide farmers with support in inputs supply and marketing of products.
Research and Development Institutes
UNVDA, P.O. Box 25 Ndop, North-West Province, Cameroon
Institut de la recherche agronomique, Station de Dschang, B.P. 44, Centre De Njombe, Dschang, Phone: 451302,
Ferme Semenciere Semry, B.P. 46, Yagoua, Telex: GAROUA 7655
Institut de la recherche agronomique, Mesres/IRCA Centre d'Ekona, B.P. 25, Province Sud-ouest, Buea, Telex: 5222,
IRA, B.P. 33 Maroua, Cameroon, Tel.: (237) 29 11 78, Fax: (237) 29 29
