Prolonged drought conditions mixed with the dry harmattan wind last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa regions could reduce the size and hamper the quality of Ivorian main cocoa crop, farmers said on Tuesday.
The harmattan, which blows south from the Sahara from December to March, is sweeping through most of Ivory Coast's cocoa regions, reducing air moisture needed for the development of cocoa pods.
Farmers need a lot of rainfall mixed with sunny spells for the development of pods and drying of the beans after harvest. In western regions, farmers said they were not happy with the hot and dry weather mixed with the harmattan which could lead to smaller cocoa beans size next year.
"We have not had any rain. There is a lot of dust because of the harmattan and in the morning, everywhere is covered in fog," said Abel Konan who farms near the centre-western region of Daloa, producing a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output.
"Water scarcity is becoming a problem. There are very few pods on the trees. We are concerned that there will not be much cocoa in January due to lack of water," Konan said.
Similar growing conditions were reported in the western regions of Bouafle and Sinfra. In the western region of Soubre, in the heart of the Ivorian cocoa belt, farmers reported no rainfall saying they feared the lack of downpour could hurt the quality of pods on trees.
"There is no rain. It is very hot and dry," said farmer Koffi Kouame. "There is a risk that beans will become smaller in size from next month," he said, adding that smaller size beans were not good for export.
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