From Adoption to Use: Economic Constraints and Quality of Phytosanitary Product Use among Maize Producers in East Cameroon

Abstract

Making a phytosanitary product available to a farmer does not guarantee that its agronomic benefits are realised. This study examines this gap between adoption and effective use among maize producers in East Cameroon during the 2025-2026 season, in a context marked by a decline in maize prices estimated at 75 to 80% since 2018-2019. A survey was conducted among 200 stakeholders (160 maize producers and 40 phytosanitary product retailers) across thirty localities in the Lom-et-Djérem, Haut-Nyong, Kadey and Boumba-et-Ngoko departments between January and March 2026, and analysed using Excel 2019 and SPSS 25 (chi-square, ANOVA, Student's t-test, Pearson correlation, binary logistic regression). The overall adoption rate reaches 82.5% (132 out of 160 producers), but among adopters, just over a third (49 producers, about 37%) apply the products outside the recommended phenological stage. A gap observed in a context of strong liquidity constraints: 94.0% of producers report being strongly affected by the maize price decline and 64.4% have no access to agricultural credit. Average yield rises from 2.20 t/ha among non-adopters to 5.80 t/ha among producers who respected the application stage, against 3.10 t/ha for late adopters, a shortfall estimated at 422,230 CFA francs per farm per season for an average 2.46 ha holding (ANOVA F = 496.36; Student's t = 24.15; Pearson r = 0.621; p < 0.001 for all three). These findings suggest that the main bottleneck is no longer the diffusion of the innovation itself, but producers' economic capacity to acquire it when agronomy requires it. Strengthening extension services should therefore be paired with input-financing mechanisms aligned with the agricultural calendar, such as warrantage and input credit.