After a prolonged dry season almost cast doubt over Ivory Coast’s ability to record good cocoa yields during the April-to-September mid-cropping season, heavy rainfalls last week have finally revived farmers’ optimism.
Last week, a reported 77.7 millimetres (mm) of rain fell in Yamoussoukro, one of Ivory Coast’s main cocoa-growing regions. Reuters reported that the rainfall measured above 60.7 millimetres, which has been a five-year average.
Many Ivorian cocoa farmers were excited to welcome the rainfalls, with one of them saying “We are very happy. We weren’t expecting such rain now. We hope the mid-crop will have a good yield.”