Description concise et analyse des systèmes utilisés dans la région Sud du Cameroun pour le séchage du cacao

A Concise Description and Analysis of Methods Used for Cocoa Drying in the South Region of Cameroon. An inventory of drying methods and types of cocoa dryers used by farmers in rural zone of South Cameroon was made. These include direct solar drying which is predominant and thermal drying using energy from burning wood. Different types of dryers are associated with each of these drying methods. These consist of "autobus" dryer in south zone, dryer on cemented area in center zone, firewood dryer in south -west zone and ground dryer used in the South Region of Cameroon. An analysis of real needs in drying in the rural zone and an appraisal of available means to accomplish them were done using an investigation carried out among rural farmers. Cocoa conservation is very difficult because climatic condition is unfavorable during production. Local unit of measurement, which is bag, weighs about 50 to 80 kilograms. Cocoa buying price from the producer is very high at the end of production. Mean duration of fermentation is 7 days. A laboratory determination of water content in dry base of cocoa samples used during the investigation shows that it varies from 10 to 20% instead of the 8%, which is the recommended water content. The range of water content found shows that drying is inadequate.