Background: After the closure of Cameroon's National Produce Marketing Board in 1990, rigorous measures no longer existed to control production of quality cocoa. This study assesses farmers' knowledge of postharvest practices that could influence cocoa bean quality (CBQ), their perception of quality cocoa and the factors that hinder good farming and postharvest practices (GFPHP). We also make suggestions on how quality control can be incorporated in the production chain to improve on CBQ produced. Methods:In a cross-sectional, purposive study in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon, 100 farmers were enrolled from 10 villages (10 from each village) which make up the major production area in Agro-ecological Zone IV of Cameroon. Farmers were administered a semi-structured questionnaire in the language they best understood.Results: Cocoa farming in this area is a tradition and our results show that 97 % of farmers are males and acquired farming practices mainly through their family member (43 %) and/or friends (34 %). Farms are self-owned, 76 and 85 %, respectively, are less than 5Ha and have been cultivated for more than 20 years. Only 10 % of farmers could perceive quality cocoa using physical characterization. Although more than 95 % of farmers knew GFPHP, only 48 % undertake these practices. Farmers' focus was on bean weight and not on CBQ and 64 % of farmers think quality has little impact on the price. Most farmers (71 %) sell to "buyam-sellams" who care little about quality. The proportion of respondents who acquired knowledge through formal learning was significantly higher than those who did so from informal learning with regards to both good cocoa production practice (p = 0.036) and appreciation of quality attributes (p = 0.043). Subsidizing inputs, access to credits, creating cooperatives, regulating price of cocoa and training on postharvest management in decreasing order could enhance practices that will ensure quality cocoa production. Conclusion:GFPHP is important in the production of quality cocoa. Left alone, farmers will not pay attention to these quality attributes especially as premium quality is not rewarded. Organizing farmers into cooperatives will reduce the link between farmers and companies exporting cocoa and alleviate most bottlenecks in the sector.

e impact of different land-use systems on some soil physicochemical properties and macrofauna abundance in the humid tropics of Cameroon was studied. e land-use types included secondary forest (SF), oil palm plantation (PP), banana plantation (BP), sugarcane plantation (SP), and rubber plantation (RP). Soil particle size distribution, bulk density (BD), pH, organic matter (OM), and number of macrofauna were evaluated. e results showed that OM and number of macrofauna were higher in the SF than in the other land-use types. Pearson's correlation analysis carried out to determine the relationship between OM and BD showed that OM and BD was strongly negatively related with correlation coefficient of −0.9653. It also showed a strong significant negative correlation between BD and ants population (r � −0.8828) and between soil pH and number of earthworms (r � −0.9072). Based on the results, the SF produced more organic matter and higher number of macrofauna. However, the OM of the other land uses was not low; hence, it could be beneficial to return plant residues to the field for maintaining soil quality.

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Heaps of cocoa beans and mucilage placed within plantain leaves in Ekona, Fako Division of the South West Region of Cameroon was studied to isolate and identify bacteria playing a lead role during natural fermentation process. All experiments were performed at JP Johnson Biotechnology Laboratory at IRAD Ekona, Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon between March – October, 2020. Heaps of 10kg were placed on and covered with plantain leaves and allowed to ferment naturally. Before every sample was collected the temperature and pH were measured. Samples were inoculated into de Mann Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar and Caar agar for the isolation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) respectively. Standard microbiological procedures for obtaining bacteria counts and isolation of pure cultures were performed and isolated bacteria were identified following morphological and phenotypic characterization on API50CHL for LAB and Enrichment Media for AAB. The fermentation temperature rose to 45oC after 4 days while the pH fluctuated with a peak at 4.82 after 108 hours. Maximum counts of Acetic Acid Bacteria (AAB) (5.8x108 Colony Forming Units (CFU)/ mL) and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) (8.9x8x108 (CFU)/mL were obtained at 2 days and 5 days respectively. Twelve isolates each of AAB and LAB were identified on growth media. After phenotypic characterization, 03 Lactobacillus species and 02 Acetobacter species were identified. The most abundant bacteria were L. plantarum (41.77%) and Acetobacter tropicalis (24.11%) on MRS agar and Caar Agar respectively.L. plantarum and A. tropicalis have been identified as the bacteria playing a lead role in the fermentation of cocoa in Fako Division of the South West Region of Cameroon. These organisms may be used as good candidates in a consortium for use as a starter culture.