Light rains support Ivory Coast’ cocoa mid-crop development, farmers say

Mostly above-average light rains in the Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions last week are likely to support the development of the April-to-September mid-crop, 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.

Farmers across key cocoa-growing regions welcomed last week's rains, which they expect to support the development of numerous small pods currently on trees.

They expressed satisfaction that cocoa trees showed no signs of weakness due to ample moisture levels, while noting that consistent, weekly rainfall until mid-March could result in a mid-crop harvest surpassing last season's output.  

Overall, they said growing conditions for the mid-crop have been better than last season so far.

"The trees are doing well. Starting in May, we will have enough cocoa," said Romain Koua, who farms near the central region of Yamoussoukro, where 14.5 mm fell last week, 7.9 mm above the five-year average.

FARMERS HOPEFUL IN OTHER IVORY COAST REGIONS

Farmers were also hopeful in the central region of Bongouanou, where rains were above average, and in the centre-western region of Daloa, where rains were below average.

In the western region of Soubre and in the southern region of Divo, where rains were below average, as well as the southern region of Agboville and the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were both above average, farmers said they anticipated a tepid start to mid-crop harvesting in April, with a gradual increase 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 the southern region of Agboville, where 22.8 mm fell last week, 14.5 mm above the five-year average.  

The weekly average temperature ranged from 27.9 to 31.7 degrees Celsius.

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Ayen Deng Bior and Anil D'Silva)