Understanding actors' interests and power relations in honey production: Empirical insights from the Western highlands of Cameroon

Abstract

Honey production plays a significant role in uplifting the rural poor in many developing countries. This explains the existence of extensive research into this sector. Despite the current evidence base, questions related to the governance of honey production with emphasis on the interests of different actor typologies and the power elements they employ remain relatively less understood in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Cameroon. As a contribution towards closing the current research gap, this study employs the Actor Centred Power (ACP) analytical lens to: (a) map honey production actor typologies and their interests, and (b) examine the power elements employed by actors in honey production. To generate this qualitative evidence, data was obtained through key informant interviews ( n = 30), expert interviews ( n = 7) and focus group discussions ( n = 8) in three communities of the Western Highlands. The directed content analysis, thematic analysis and narratives led to the following conclusions: Firstly, endogenous and exogenous actor typologies significantly manifest social interests linked to honey production. Secondly, while endogenous actors further manifest ecological interests, exogenous actors' interests were skewed towards the economic domain. Thirdly, in the pursuit of honey production, both exogenous and endogenous actors significantly employ (dis)incentives and dominant information as power elements. The evidence derived from honey production challenge the mainstream ACP debate that exogenous actors draw more from coercion. It reveals a shift towards (dis)incentives and dominant information, signaling a growing understanding between actors and institutions in the exogenous and endogenous domains. Additionally, while power exercise facilitates the attainment of the potentate's interest, it could intriguingly facilitate the attainment of the subordinate's interest, revealing that the outcome of power exercise does not always have to be negative for the subordinate. To reveal further insights into collective action and internal power dynamics, future multi-level institutional analyses are recommended, including changing livelihood outcomes linked to community engagement in honey production. • We analyse actors' interests and power relations in rural Cameroon's honey production governance. • Endogenous and exogenous actor typologies significantly manifest social interest in honey production. • Endogenous and exogenous actors significantly exercise (dis)incentives and dominant information in honey production. • The results challenge mainstream ACP debate that exogenous actors draw more from coercion. • Power exercise could potentially facilitate a positive interest-based outcome for potentates and subordinates.