Farmers fear for cocoa in dry spell

Most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions had no rain last week, raising fear for the April-toSeptember mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.

Most of Ivory Coast’s cocoagrowing regions received no rainfall last week, raising fears for the April-to-September midcrop, farmers said on Monday.

Scarce showers during the dry season, which runs from November to late February, are crucial for cocoa crops to withstand the heat in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer.

Though trees are laden with fruit, farmers said some leaves and young pods, or cherelles, are drying up in the heat and that a prolonged drought could prevent the crop from reaching its full potential.

“The heat is unbearable. There are leaves and cherelles that are beginning to dry up and fall,” said Amadou Diallo, who farms on the outskirts of the southern region of Divo.

In the centre-western region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of national output, farmers said they feared bush fires, which can arise at this time of year. “Pods are developing well, but we hope abundant rains will come soon to reduce the risk of bush fires, said Albert N Zue, who farms”near Daloa.

In the western region of Soubre, which includes the regions of Sassandra and San Pedro, farmers said they remained optimistic as the sky became cloudy towards the end of last week. “We think there will be rain soon,” said Fousseni Konate, who farms near Soubre. “We can see the mid-crop developing on trees.”