Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products Bitter Kola, Njangsang and Palm Wine to the Income of Marketers in the Mifi Division of the West Region of Cameroon

The objective of the study is to contribute to the promotion of NTFPs (Bitter kola, Njangsang and palm wine) by assessing their contribution to the income of marketers in the Mifi division. The study was carried out in the Mifi division in the West Region of Cameroon between January and May 2020. Respondents were drawn from a cross-section of marketers. Data was collected through the administration of semi-structure questionnaires and interview guide as well as direct observations. 81 persons involved in the economic sector in five main markets were identified during the reconnaissance survey, of which 65 were interviewed accounting for 80.24%. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics for processing quantitative data and to generate tables and graphs. Results revealed that every stratum of the community participates in the trade, but the main actors were of the middle age group (45 to 55 years old). Economic analysis revealed that measurement unites for NTFPs in various markets are not standardized and there is a high variation in price between period of abundance and period of scarcity. Wholesalers were able to make an annual benefit of 2 338 900 FCFA, 1 077 400 FCFA and 178 600 FCFA per person from palm wine, bitter kola and Njansang respectively. This benefit was related to the origin of products, thus, the proximity of the supply area of palm wine permitted the concerned persons to meet higher benefit. The benefit observed is this study still includes transportation cost, so in reality, the final benefit is a variable value due to the constant variation (usually little variation) of transportation cost depending on the means of transport. Nevertheless, NTFPs are of real contribution to the income of the Mifi division population, but the supply areas are out of the Mifi division and this implicates some constraints such as high transportation cost, seasonality of products and high variation of sale prices. There is a real need of domestication of species to promote their sustainable management in the actual context of climate change.