Agronomic and Structural Characterization of Cocoa Orchards and Growers in Main Production Area of Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Côte d'Ivoire is the world’s top cocoa producer, contributing about 38% of global supply and supporting its economy and farmers’ livelihoods. Cocoa production faces challenges such as low yields, ageing farms, climate change, pests, and diseases. A diagnosis of Ivorian cocoa orchard was carried out from 2015 to 2017 through a survey conducted in 16 departments representative of the three major cocoa-producing areas. The objective was to update characteristics of cocoa producers and agronomic characteristics of cocoa plantations in Côte d'Ivoire. To this end, a sample of 474 producers was surveyed during investigation. Results showed that, in terms of producer characteristics, the majority of producers are indigenous and illiterate. Concerning characteristics of orchards, results showed that most of the plantations (57.57 %) are located on former forest land and mostly use "general" plant material (70.43 %) to create plantations. Average size of plantations is 3.39 hectares, but most of producers (51.92 %) have plots ranging from 0 to 2 hectares. Fields are very often acquired through creation (48 %) and inheritance (46%). Plantations aged between 5 and 15 years were the most common in the first and second cocoa loop with rates of 40 % and 38 %. As for the third loop, more than 45% of plantations are over 30 years old. In addition, more than 50% of orchards produce between 0-250 kg/ha/year. Agroforestry systems were also observed in most of cocoa plantations visited (95%).