Abstract

Carpolobia trade evaluation was carried out between 2003 and June 2010 in the Ejagham Forest Reserve of South West Cameroon and the Cross River State of Nigeria, with the objective of examining the harvesting, marketing and the economic contributions of Carpolobia trade to the National and International economies of Nigeria and Cameroon.Carpolobia as a Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) is the stem of an ever green shrub from the family Polygalaceae that is harvested from the forest ecosystem, processed into a cattle control and walking stick (locally known as Hausa sticks), and marketed in Cameroon and Nigeria. In order to achieve the set objectives of the study, the line transect was used to assess species level of abundance while questionnaire and a selection of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools were employed to gather information on the species season of occurrence, harvesting and trade/marketing from Carpolobia species harvesters and other forest user groups in the study area. Analysis of collected data revealed that two species ofCarpolobia are found in the study area (Carpolobia lutea, and Carpolobia alba). C. lutea was the most economically valued species for the Carpolobia species trade. The sourcing and processing of C. lutea for the market was found to be characterized by the use of locally made tools that destructively cut the plant below the ground level with little room for natural regeneration. Market prices for C. lutea were found to be determined by the contractors who acted as cartel. ANOVA and t-test analysis showed significant differences in product quantities within and between zones and the two seasons of the year at the P<0.05 level of significance. A total of 16,103,065.2 tons of C. lutea were produced and traded between 2003 and June 2010, valued at about 24,076,915 F CFA (US$ 48,153.83) as internally generated revenue (IGR) to the economies of Cameroon and Nigeria. The natural stock ofCarpolobia species in the study area is on a sharp decline due to unsustainable harvesting.

Key words: Carpolobia, harvesting, trade/marketing, non timber forest products (NTFPs), contractors.