Stakeholders' perceptions on sustainability transition pathways of the cocoa value chain towards improved livelihood of small-scale farming households in Cameroon

Claudia Vogel, Syndhia Mathe (), Maria Geitzenaeur, Hycenth Tim Ndah, Stefan Sieber, Michelle Bonatti and Marcos Lana
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Claudia Vogel: Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
Syndhia Mathe: UMR Innovation - Innovation et Développement dans l'Agriculture et l'Alimentation - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement
Maria Geitzenaeur: IITA - Institut international d'agriculture tropicale
Hycenth Tim Ndah: ZALF - Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung = Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
Stefan Sieber: ZALF - Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung = Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
Michelle Bonatti: ZALF - Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung = Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
Marcos Lana: SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

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Abstract: Given the persistent poor livelihood of cocoa-farming households, future climate predictions and the worldwide demand pressure for higher cocoa quality and productivity, there is still a strong need to find new approaches that guarantee a sustainable cocoa future in cocoa-producing countries amongst which Cameroon is one of them. This exploratory research investigates potential future pathways for the cocoa sector in Cameroon by mapping the perceptions of actors involved in the socio-technical regime. Qualitative expert interviews, structured questionnaires and field observation, as well as a focus group discussion have been applied to understand how a sustainability transition can be triggered. The study shows that actors envisage a sustainability change which determines their actions; however, their perceptions towards future transitions are not actively coordinated. Actors are not finding a way of adopting new organizational structures and letting a transition occur effectively, like in the case of certification standards. An alignment of perceptions and activities, and a stronger cooperation between the private and public are strongly recommended. The study encourages to consider a coordination of actors' perceptions towards future scenarios as a starting point to study sustainability transitions.

Keywords: Cameroun; fève de cacao; chaîne d'approvisionnement; assurance qualité; petite exploitation agricole; niveau de vie; marché mondial; sociologie économique; durabilité; Cocoa; Sustainability; Cameroon; Perception; Filière agro-alimentaire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05174592v1
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Published in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2020, 18 (1), pp.55-69. ⟨10.1080/14735903.2019.1696156⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05174592

DOI: 10.1080/14735903.2019.1696156

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