The image is striking. Out of the fifteen or so farming organisations of the Nyong-Ekellé Department, invited to Eséka by the Inter-professional Organisation for Cocoa and Coffee (CICC) within the framework of a mid-season assessment meeting, barely half could report actual sales figures. For the remainder, no statistics were available. Even those who have provided figures specified that their statistical data are approximate as there is little certainty about the products’ movement.

At the root of the problem, producers agree, is the fraudulent sale of cocoa beans which, in turn, is linked to the inadequate grasp of cargo flows. According to producers, with disregard for recommendations for regulation, more fortunate buyers “who are sometimes protected by administrative authorities,” sneak into villages often at night, offering farmers the short-term financial solution for their families’ urgent needs by buying their cocoa – often while they are still fresh.

In addition to the poor quality of the final product, which is the first consequence of this practice which Mr Baleba, Departmental President of the Cameroon National Association of Cocoa and Coffee Producers (ANPCC) for Nyong-Ekellé has referred to as “cocoa farming plague” is the significant reduction of purchasing costs, as the producer is stripped of any negotiating power before the buyer, while the latter readily tries to negotiate a lower price.

It is a serious phenomenon to many producers, but a source of amusement to Omer Gatien Malédy who openly spoke out against the complicit involvement of the producers themselves in the rise of this practice. “If you refuse to sell your cocoa to these people and wait until market day to do it, they won’t come anymore. They’ll disappear,” stated the CICC Executive Secretary with anecdotal evidence of people who put an end to this practice and producers who have managed to get attractive prices through group sales.

According to Mr Malédy, the eradication of this practice involves better structuring of farmer associations who will organise periodical market events during which produce will be sold collectively at the best price. “With good prices, farmer organisations can make small withdrawals from their group profits which they will be able to use to address their urgent financial needs,” advised Mr Malédy.