LIMITS OF DRYING TECHNOLOGIES OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN SOUTHERN REGION OF CAMEROON

The Southern Region of Cameroon is one of the principal zones of production and marketing of the foodstuffs of local consumption and export. In spite of the efforts granted these last years in technologies and increasingly powerful techniques of conservation, post-harvests losses are always recorded in this area. To include the causes of this persistence, an investigation of the half-open type was led in the four Divisions of this area, in order to draw up a cartography of available energys resources, techniques and drying equipment of the products and the needs of the actors, making it possible to overcome the encountered difficulties. The quantitative and qualitative information analysis shows that on the scored foodstuffs intensively cultivated in the Southern Region of Cameroon, 55% are being conserved by drying techniques. The technique implemented is sun drying, by natural convection, on trays or tapoline. The use of the sun as principal source of energy, in an environment where the hygroscopy of air is higher (around 80%) with a strong annual humidity of 1700 to 4000 mm, remains the limiting factor for good conservation of agricultural productions in this area.The total information collected is then associated with the needs expressed by the principal actors to help bring out an adequat socio-economic and technical solution to their problems