Climate change and extreme weather: Lack of rain, heat could hinder Ivory Coast cocoa crop
Business
Marketing for the mid-crop officially opens in early April, with a new farmgate price set by govt
- Several farmers across the country have reported a rise in temperature compared with the previous week, sapping soil moisture
LAHORE/ABIDJAN (Web Desk) – With an overwhelming majority of people around the globe coping with the rising food prices, the climate change is affecting your lives by accelerating the process to draining the pockets, as extreme weather is behind reduced crop production in different parts of the world.
It has been reported that India is likely to experience more heatwave days than normal between April and June, potentially hitting agricultural production and hampering government efforts to bring down food inflation.
But what would you tell your loved ones, especially the children, if reduced purchasing power amid a sustained inflation and stagnant wages demands convincing them to reduce their chocolate consumption?
As the cocoa prices already reaching a record high, farmer in Ivory Coast say lack of rain and strong sun in most of the main cocoa regions last week could hinder the April-to-September mid-crop.
In this connection, Reuters in a report says the world’s top cocoa producer just started its rainy season, which runs officially from April to mid-November. Rains are usually abundant during this time.
Read more: Dear chocolate getting expensive: Ivory Coast to raise cocoa farmgate price by 50pc
Several farmers across the country have reported a rise in temperature compared with the previous week, sapping soil moisture.
They said they were concerned about the impact of the past week's weather on the small pods and cherelles meant to be harvested from mid-August.
Marketing for the mid-crop officially opens in early April, with a new farmgate price set by the government. Most farmers said they were holding onto beans as they expected the price to increase to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.48) per kilogramme, up from the 1,000 CFA.
"The heat is unbearable. Small pods need more water to develop," said Albert N’Zue, who farms near the centre-western region of Daloa, where 8.6 millimetres of rain fell last week, 12 mm below the five-year average.
Similar conditions with below-average rainfall were reported in the central region of Yamoussoukro, in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, and in the eastern region of Abengourou.
Although rain was above the average and the central region of Bongouanou and in the western region of Soubre, farmers there said it was still insufficient to boost crops.
"The level of rain is too low. It is so hot. We need more rain to boost cocoa production," said Salame Kone, who farms near Soubre, where 20.1 mm fell last week, 3 mm above average.
Average weekly temperatures ranged between 29.6 and 33.4 degrees Celsius.
