Dear Forum members,
Family farming is on the decline. I have seen the evolution of family farming in the village where I grew up. My family as well as many others that I knew at the time, depended mostly on food from our farms and a good quantity of this food was sold to cater for basic needs. Today I live and work in a town but often visit my village. Most of the people of my generation who lived in the village at the time are equally living in towns. Some of our parents have since died while others are living with their children in town.
What marvels me is the fact that when I visit my village nowadays, I notice that the labor force in agriculture has greatly reduced. Most of the youths have long moved to town. The population engaged in agricultural production in my village is made up mostly of old people as the youths prefer to engage in other activities which of course may not necessarily be more remunerating.
Another interesting fact is that those engaged in agricultural production are more into food crop production rather than cash crop production since food crops fetch more profit and prices are easily determined by the forces of demand and supply and not imposed as is generally the case with cash crops such as coffee and cocoa.
Felicitas Atanga
FAO Cameroon
Felicitas Atanga