Farmers in Ivory Coast say light rainfall has supported the October–March main cocoa crop, even as colder weather has lingered across most key producing regions. While pod growth has been strong so far, they emphasize that more sunshine will be crucial in the coming weeks.
Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is currently in its rainy season, which officially runs from April through mid-November.
According to Reuters, farmers reported that pod development is progressing well, with many large, near-ripe pods visible on trees.
They said the main crop is benefiting from light showers and good soil moisture, with no signs of crop damage. According to them, more sun alongside adequate early-September rainfall would further improve the harvest outlook.
Some plantations have already begun limited harvesting, with supplies expected to gradually increase from September. “Everything is fine for now.
We need plenty of sunshine, but if it rains heavily in September, we’ll have losses,” said Ernest Alleba, who farms near Soubre in the west. The region recorded 0.1 millimetres of rain last week, 13.2 mm below the five-year average.
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Farmers in the southern region of Divo, where no rainfall was recorded last week, said the crop is maturing well and should deliver abundant harvests from October. The same expectation was shared in Agboville and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rainfall was also below average.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, as well as in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, rainfall was well below normal levels.
Farmers welcomed the lighter rains, saying they were strengthening the crop, but added that more sunshine would further improve growth.
“If the sun comes out well, the trees will produce well and the pods will form well,” said Ghislain Aka, a farmer near Daloa, where 3.3 mm of rain fell last week, 19.5 mm under the five-year average.
Across the cocoa-growing belt, weekly average temperatures ranged between 23.9 and 26.6 degrees Celsius.
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Image Credit: CNBC Africa
