Douala, Cameroon Africa, October 2010 (news.cameroon-today.com)  -  Cocoa prices dropped by 100 CFA in Kumba owing to bad roads that make transport difficult.

Cameroon Kumba – City of Kumba in Cameroon, Africa

Prices of Cocoa which were supposed to show a lot of promise as per forecasts dropped from 1250 CFA for a kilogram in September to 1150 CFA a month later at the country’s principal trading zone in Kumba.

Farmers state that because of bad road condition which have worsened after the monsoons they are unable to transport the crop to the port form the farms in the main area of cultivation in South west parts of Cameroon.

“Again our problem remains the very heavy rainfall. It is not only slowing down bean drying but has deteriorated the state of the roads to an extent that many areas are now completely inaccessible,” said Joseph Nde, manager of CAMACO. Dickson Tambe Ashu, head of the Mamfe Central Area Co-operative Union in the region, said people who were purchasing the crop were bent on passing on the increased prices caused due to dismal road conditions over to the consumers.

“They argue their trucks get stuck many times along the road and they have to hire people to push them out, and at the same time they spend more money on fuel,” he said. “And somebody has to pay for all this.”

Growers if cocoa are worried about the excessive rains that have been prevalent in the South west provinces of the country since July this year and the rains have not just made commuting impossible by worsening the road condition but have also been a major reason for enhancing mould and proliferating ill health.

The government has promised to improve the existing conditions by offering pesticides and fungicides at low prices to farmers and have also approached the World Bank for some funding to make the road conditions better.