Three straight days of strong, dry Harmattan winds last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions have damaged flowers and small pods, raising concerns about both the main and the mid-crop, farmers said on Monday. The Harmattan is a dusty wind that typically sweeps in from the Sahara from December to March. When strong, it can ruin small cocoa pods and sap moisture from the soil, reducing beans' size.
While most of the main harvest has already been collected, beans are still expected for the mid-crop, which runs from April to September and are seen as vulnerable. "We have rarely seen such an intense Harmattan," said farmer Amadou Diallo, who farms on the outskirts of the southern region of Divo. "These three days have destroyed flowers and dried out the leaves. The damage is enormous."
He added that strong sunshine was drying and the crop, risking a shortage of cocoa during the next three months. In the western region of Soubre, in the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers reported no rain and a strong Harmattan wind as the main cocoa crop tails off. "It is overwhelming this dryness. The situation is getting worse. Many trees are dying and have lost their leaves," said farmer Salame Kone, who farms near Soubre.
"If it does not rain this week, the beans that emerge at the end of the month will be small and poor quality," said Kone. In the centre-western region Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output, farmers said the Harmattan held risks for both the main and the mid-crop.
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