Facteurs techniques liés à l'abandon de la pisciculture dans les provinces de l'Ouest et du Nord-Ouest au Cameroun

Technical factors related to the rejection of Inland fish farming in the West and North-West provinces of Cameroon. A basic assumption of "adoption diffusion theory" is that once an adaptor accepts a new idea, he/she will continue to use the innovation on a continuous basis. However, results obtained from data on inland fish culture in the North-West and Western Provinces of Cameroon cast doubts on the universal tenability of this assumption. From the study, it was observed that inland fish culture, an innovation, was abandonned after initial adoption by farmers. Several reasons were given by farmers for discontinuance : unprofitability of the activity, ignorance of pond maintenance techniques, lack of time to care for the fish, and inadequate access to reliable extension services. The paper then discusses the implications of these findings for adoption diffusion theory and for the development of fisheries in Cameroon