Agriculture

This is the main economic activity of the Babessi people as it is the main reliable source of income to the inhabitants. It is practiced by 90 % of the population. The remaining 10% are involved in other activities such as: administration, teaching, petty trading etc. The agricultural speculations of the Municipality include:

• Tuber: colocasia –ibo, colocasia-local, sweet potatoes, irish.
• Grains: several varieties of maize, several varieties of beans, soja bean, cow peas and rice.
• Vegetables: plantains, banana, tomatoes, cabbage, celery, bacilli, huckey berry, okra, garden egg, pumpkins, melons, ginger.
• Cash crops: coffee (arabica and robusta) oil palms, raffia palms.

The tools used for farming are mostly hand tools such as hoes and cutlasses. However, there a few tractors for tilling of rice farms. The production for 2016 is show in the Table below:

Agricultural speculation in the Municipality for 2017

S/N	Speculation	Production (tons)
1	Arabica coffee	150
2	Robusta coffee	250
3	Pam wine	1500
4	Palm oil	62
5	Cassava	1150
6	Plantains	100
7	Sweet potatoes	1000
8	Colocasia ibo	400
9	Colocasia -local	300
10	Banana	300
11	cabbage	40
12	carrots	15
13	beans	30
14	ginger	80
15	Okro	15
16	Maize	203
17	pepper	15
18	Water melon	450
19	Tomatoes	700
20	Soya beans	100
21	Groundnut	1200
22	Huckle berry	100

Source:  SDD for Agriculture and Rural Development Babessi, 2017.

Livestock and Animal industries

This is the second most important economic activity in the municipality. The livestock bred include: cattle, goats, sheep and fowls. These products are sold both in the local markets and out of the municipality. The table below presents the various livestock species reared and their production.

Livestock production in the Municipality

S/N	Type	Production (2016 speculations)
1	Cattle	15000
2	Pigs	1750
3	goats	1500
4	sheep	520
5	Fowls (exotic breeds)	5400
6	Rabbits	50
7	Guinea pig	300

Source: SDD MINEPIA Babessi/Council, 2017

Fisheries

This is a very young but growing activity in the Municipality. There are about 30 fish farmers in the Municipality producing tilapia, claria and carp. The Table below presents the production of these types of fishes:

Fish production in the Municipality

S/N	Type	Production
1	Tilapia	40,000
2	Claria	25,000
3	Carp	20,000

Source: ACTWID-KONGADZEM, estimates from field survey, 2017

Commerce

There are five local markets and three cattle markets in the Municipality for the sales of food stuff and other basic needs of the community. These markets are functional once every week. During the market day, there is usually an influx of traders, buyers and visitors into the municipality. The Table below shows the distribution of some market infrastructures in each of the markets.

Distribution of infrastructure in the 5 markets of the Council

	Lock-up sheds	Open sheds on lease	Meat slabs	Slaughter slabs	Toilets building
Baba 1	66		2	0	01 (with 2 squad holes)
Babessi	39	204	4	01	02 (with 10 squad holes)
Babessi (Mambim Food market)	0	44	0	0	0
Babungo	190	11	4	1	0
Bangolan	0	48	2		1 (with 2 squad holes)
Total	295	307	12	2	4

 

end faq