Cameroon: Black Pod Disease Plagues Cocoa Plantations
Black pod disease is destroying cocoa farms in the southwest of Cameroon, one of the nation’s best cocoa belts. Brown rot, also known as black pod disease, is a fungal disease that wreaks havoc on cocoa pods and trees and can flourish in damp environments. Due to weeks of intense rain in Cameroon, the disease has been able to spread widely.
Since July, there have been heavy downpours, which have exacerbated the outbreak in a number of cocoa-producing hubs, including Muyuka, Mbonge, and Kumba, and created ideal circumstances for the disease.
Officials and professionals in the field say the problem has gotten worse due to an increase in fake agrochemicals. Many growers are relying on inexpensive, unreliable fungicides that are being trafficked from Ghana and Nigeria, according to regulators.
Because they believe they know better, smallholder farmers don’t want to follow expert advice,” explains cocoa consultant Epie Promise Ngolepie. Since July, there has been a lot of rain, which has made the disease more likely to spread and made the outbreak worse in a number of cocoa-producing regions, such as Muyuka, Mbonge, and Kumba.
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