Mostly light but above-average rainfall across Ivory Coast’s main cocoa-producing areas last week is expected to support the development of the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.
Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa producer, is currently in its dry season, which officially runs from mid-November to March.
Farmers in major cocoa-growing regions welcomed the recent rains, saying they would help the many small pods now forming on trees to develop properly.
They also noted that cocoa trees remain healthy, with no signs of stress thanks to sufficient soil moisture.
According to them, steady weekly rainfall through mid-March could allow the upcoming mid-crop harvest to exceed last season’s production.
Overall, farmers said conditions for the mid-crop have been more favorable so far compared to last year.
“The trees are doing well. Starting in May, we will have enough cocoa,” said Romain Koua, who farms near Yamoussoukro in the central region, where rainfall reached 14.5 mm last week, 7.9 mm above the five-year average.
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According to Reuters, Farmers expressed optimism in other parts of the country as well. In the central region of Bongouanou, rainfall was above average, while in the centre-western region of Daloa, it was below average.
In the western region of Soubre and the southern region of Divo, rainfall was also below average.
Meanwhile, the southern region of Agboville and the eastern region of Abengourou recorded above-average rainfall.
Despite these variations, farmers across these regions expect a slow start to the mid-crop harvest in April, followed by a gradual increase in production from May through September.
“Many small pods are growing larger. We hope that the beans will be large,” said Dominique N’Takpe, who farms near Agboville, where 22.8 mm of rain fell last week, 14.5 mm above the five-year average.
During the week, average temperatures ranged between 27.9 and 31.7 degrees Celsius.
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Image Credit: Reuters
