Ivory Coast weather mixed for cocoa mid-crop farmers

By Loucoumane Coulibaly

ABIDJAN, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Variable rainfall last week across Ivory Coast’s main cocoa regions has contributed to a mixed outlook for the development of the April-to-September mid-crop as the main crop tails off, farmers said on Monday.

Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is in its dry season which runs officially from mid-November to March, when rains are poor and scarce.

In the western region of Soubre, where rains were well above average, farmers said the moisture would help cocoa trees flower from February, boosting hopes of a sustained and abundant mid-crop.

The development of the mid-crop “is off to a good start. If we get another good rain this month, we will have plenty of cherelles (young cocoa pods) and young fruits starting in March,” said Salame Kone, who farms near Soubre, where 9.2 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 5.1 mm above the five-year average.

In the southern region of Divo, 2.1 mm of rain fell last week, close to the five-year average. Meanwhile rains were below average in the southern region of Agboville and in the eastern region of Abengourou, but farmers said moisture levels were enough to allow cocoa trees to produce more flowers for the mid-crop. The centre-western region of Daloa and the central region of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro saw no rain last week.

“The soil moisture level is starting to get low. It needs to rain, otherwise the trees will weaken,” said Eric N’Dri, who farms near Daloa.

The weekly average temperature ranged from 26.5 to 29 degrees Celsius. (Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Ros Russell)

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