ABSTRACT

The age recorded was as given by the farmer, checked by an inspection of the farm, and some overlap in the classes is probable, as the year of planting had in most cases to be defined in relation to some historical event. The youngest class, however, allows of no such error, and the acceleration of the rate of planting in 1930–1934 period is remarkable. As cultivation extended farmers had to go further and further away from the village, each succeeding half mile ring showing a higher percentage of young farms than the one before. The yield from each farm was obtained by questionnaire, checked up by the quantity of dry cocoa brought to the village by each farmer, and the aggregate tonnage leaving the village during the season. During the 1930/31 season yields had been obtained from 20 plots on a large farm in the neighbouring village of Ntronang, and use of these plots was made during the survey period.