ABIDJAN, July 5 (Reuters) – Above-average rains blended with sunshine final week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing areas may strengthen improvement of the 2021/22 predominant crop, however additional heavy rains may flood some plantations, farmers mentioned on Monday.
Ivory Coast, the world’s high cocoa producer, is in the course of its wet season, which runs from April to mid-November.
Farmers mentioned the April-to-September mid-crop was tailing off and downpours blended with extended sunny spells will increase the harvest from late August to late September.
The farmers added that cocoa timber have began flowering.
The scale of forthcoming predominant crop will rely on the flowers that survive and switch into pods.
Within the coastal area of San Pedro, farmers mentioned it rained so much final week, damaging some unpaved rural roads and making entry to plantations troublesome.
“The speed of flowering on timber is sweet, however we’re apprehensive that some farms might be flooded if the rains are heavy once more this week,” mentioned Nehan Julien, who farms close to San Pedro.
Knowledge collected by Reuters confirmed that rainfall within the western area of Soubre, the guts of the cocoa belt, which incorporates the areas of Sassandra and San Pedro, was at 64.5 millimetres (mm) final week, 24.5 mm above the five-year common.
Within the southern areas of Agboville and Divo, rains had been beneath common, however farmers mentioned timber had been flowering.
Within the centre-west area of Daloa and central areas of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, the place rains had been nicely above common, farmers reported a very good begin to flowering.
However the heavy rains meant farmers struggled to dry their beans correctly and retailer them in the appropriate circumstances.
“We nonetheless have lots of beans to reap from the farms. We’re apprehensive that the moist circumstances will make the beans mouldy,” mentioned Kan Konan, who farms close to Daloa, the place 54.7 mm of rain fell final week, 29.7 mm above the typical.
Common temperatures in Ivory Coast ranged from 24.5 to 28.2 levels Celsius over the week.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly Enhancing by Bate Felix and David Goodman)
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