Vol. 12 No. 3 (2023): in press
Full Research Articles

Incorporating expert knowledge in farmers’ opportunity cost of supplying environmental services in rural Cameroon

Claudiane Yanick Moukam
Department of Public Economics, University of Douala
Calvin Atewamba
College Boreal

Published 2023-09-04

Keywords

  • Bayesian analysis, Environmental services, Stated preferences, Opportunity cost, Rural Cameroon

How to Cite

Moukam, C. Y., & Atewamba, C. (2023). Incorporating expert knowledge in farmers’ opportunity cost of supplying environmental services in rural Cameroon. Bio-Based and Applied Economics, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.36253/bae-13534

Abstract

This paper uses a Bayesian approach to incorporate non-data information in the estimate of the
opportunity cost of farmers to conserve biodiversity and facilitate carbon sequestration in rural
Cameroon. Our field survey reveals that few farmers are willing to participate in environmental
protection programs without compensation. As shown by a multidimensional preferences analysis,
this behavior may come from the disconnection between environmental values and socioeconomic
values. A Bayesian analysis of the Tobit model of the Willingness To Accept compensation (WTA)
to participate in agroforestry programs underlines that aging, higher educational attainment, and
higher socioeconomic status are very likely to promote pro environmental behaviors. The resulting
opportunity cost of supplying environmental services is estimated at 10,775 Fcfa with a standard deviation of 333,6 Fcfa per farmer. These results are qualitatively different from the related literature.
They emphasizes the relative importance of accounting for expert knowledge in the interpretation
of environmental policies.

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