In order to promote cocoa production and assist cocoa farmers in overcoming diseases in this crop, the government of Cameroon created an experimental corporation called Societe de Developpement du Cacao (SO.DE.CAO) in 1974. This organization functioned much like an extension service to provide information about crop production and disease control. A study was conducted to determine the extent to which demographic and situational characteristics and farmers' knowledge of black pod disease control and capsid control were related to adoption and non-adoption of SO.DE.CAO's recommendations. A sample of 413 cocoa farmers who participated in the program for 10 years was interviewed. These cocoa farmers were mostly married males with little education who had small farms and used mostly family labor. Almost all of the farmers said they knew how to spray for black pod disease and which pods to remove and that such practices were complementary. Only a few farmers knew that increasing the amount of insecticide was ineffective. Although the farmers knew that systematic treatment of all cocoa farms protected from capsid, relatively few knew the appropriate time for spraying. Based on the findings of the study, suggestions were made for further extension activities focusing on the use of recommended fungicide dosage, the mixing of different fungicides, and complementary practices; further education about capsid treatment; and further contact with those farmers who had the demographic characteristics associated with non-adoption of practices. (KC)