ABIDJAN, Aug 3 (Reuters) – More sunny weather is needed across most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions to support the September-to-February main crop, farmers said on Monday, after below-average rainfall and a cooling spell last week.
• The world’s top cocoa producer is currently in its rainy season, which typically runs from April to mid-November.
• Several farmers across the country said the soil moisture content was still high enough to support tree development for several weeks.
• Farmers said prospects at the moment were promising, but warned that without proper application of fertilisers and pesticides in plantations this month, fruits would die and reduce the expectation of a good crop.
• “It can get very cold at times. Now is the time to treat the crops, otherwise there will be significant losses,” said Kouassi Kouame, who farms near the western region of Soubre, where 0.6 mm of rain fell last week, 11.6 mm below the five-year average.
• Farmers in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were below average, said plenty of fruits were still proliferating on the trees.
• If the weather remained favorable until September, harvesting for the main crop would start to be abundant from mid-October until December at least, they said.
• In the west-central region of Daloa, and in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, also with below-average rains, farmers said plantations have yielded well, but more rains in September could jeopardize the crop’s development, with incidence of disease.
• “Many fruits are growing in size, promising a bountiful harvest. However, if there is heavy rain in September, there will be a risk of disease in the plantations,” said Albert N’Zue, who farms near Daloa, where 2.4 mm fell last week, 17 mm below the five-year average.
• Weekly temperatures across Ivory Coast ranged between 24.4 and 27.4 degrees Celsius (75.9 and 81.3 degrees Fahrenheit).
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Amindeh Blaise Atabong and Jan Harvey)
