Rains, sun mixed for Ivorian cocoa growing regions

Patchy rains punctuated by some sunshine last week in Ivory Coast's principal cocoa growing regions boded well for a good main crop, but cloudy and colder weather raised fears of slower development in some regions, farmers said on Tuesday. Some farmers in the world's top cocoa producer said sunshine was up compared with the previous week, but plantations still need more hot weather to fatten up beans and ward off disease for the main crop due to start in October.
Farmers added that August would be crucial for the main crop as flowers which were proliferating in plantations need sufficient sun to turn into adequately sized pods. An Abidjan-based meteorologist said the weather would be cloudy and cold until mid-August. "The weather will be drizzly and cool for the next three weeks. After that, there should be a lot of sun," he said. With too little rain pods do not fatten up enough. Too little sun, and beans are too small and trees are susceptible to diseases.
But rains have been too heavy and humidity too high in plantations for weeks because of a lack of sun. In the eastern region of Abengourou, a local weather analyst said no rain had been recorded. Farmer Joseph Amani, who farms near Abengourou, said there had been enough sun in the past week, raising hopes of a good next main crop.
"There are a lot of flowers and small pods on the trees. It's a good sign but the sun must come out strongly in the next three weeks for the crop to develop now," Amani said. In the coastal region of Sassandra, farmers reported two light rains mixed with average sunshine - good for pods. "We had a bit of rain. The sun is not strong but it's good enough. For the moment, the pods are fattening nicely," farmer Edmond Ezan said.
But in the western region of Bouafle and the centre-western region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of national output, farmers were concerned about the cool weather and the lack of enough sun. "We're worried because there's no sun and the sky is overcast," said farmer Marcel Aka. "If this continues, it could hold back development of pods," he added. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, no rain fell sunshine was average, farmers said.