Analysis of rice production and marketing structure: The case of Noun Basin, Western Cameroon region

Rice is currently one of the staple foods for both rural and urban populations in Cameroon, being the most consumed after wheat and maize. However, its production and marketing face numerous challenges. This study aims to analyze the structure of rice production and marketing in the Western region, specifically in the Noun basin. This involves identifying the socio-economic characteristics of producers and traders, determining the structure and cost of rice production, characterizing the marketing channels, and ultimately determining the marketing structure, channels, margins, and actors.To ensure objective results, approximately 100 producers and 30 traders were surveyed, and data processing was conducted using SPSS. This tool enabled us to perform descriptive analyses, SWOT analysis, fixed and variable cost analyses, and marketing margin analyses. The study reveals that the population of producers and traders is aging, and social factors such as gender, marital status, and education level have no impact on production and marketing. However, factors such as family and business size and high agricultural input prices do influence production and marketing. Rice marketing in this part of the country consists of three channels: short, medium, and long (the most used by producers to sell their products). The challenges faced by producers include poor or inadequate irrigation infrastructure, lack of modern agricultural equipment, and insufficient financial resources.