Côte d’Ivoire is located in West Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean between Ghana and Liberia. The country’s total land area is 322,463 sq km. In comparison, it is slightly larger than Poland, or about the size of the state of New Mexico in the U.S. The country’s climate is tropical along the coast and semiarid in the far north. Of the total land area, 10 percent is utilized for cultivated crops, while another 11 percent supports permanent crops such as fruit- and nut-bearing trees. The country’s population is approximately 20.6 million, with 68 percent of the labor force dedicated to agriculture. Current environmental issues include deforestation (most of the country's forests – once the largest in West Africa – have been heavily logged), water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents. Côte d’Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products, and, to a lesser extent, in climatic conditions. However, the rapid increase in crude oil and gas production is beginning to balance the country’s GDP ratios. Other agricultural products in Côte d’Ivoire include timber, cotton, bananas and pineapples. The North and West Africa Division is responsible for IFDC activities in Côte d’Ivoire.
Current IFDC Projects in Côte d’Ivoire
- Marketing Inputs Regionally (MIR Plus), 2009-2013
MIR Plus is improving policy and regulatory environments in the 15 nations of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS). The project is increasing the use and efficiency of agro-inputs, improving the availability of technical and market information and using technology to link producers’ organizations with agro-dealers. The project links 2.23 million farmers to agro-dealers who will help train and supply the farmers. The project should increase maize and rain-fed rice yields by 20 percent for targeted farmers in Ghana and Nigeria, and increase irrigated rice yields in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone by 20 percent.
DONORS: Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), the Netherlands' Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS)
- Prevention of Seed Cotton Contamination in West Africa, 2009-2013
This three-year pilot project is assisting cotton traders, producer organizations and 27,000 farmers in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali to significantly reduce high levels of cotton contamination. About 100,000 tons of seed cotton will be affected over the life of the project. The project demonstrates that enhanced efforts to produce uncontaminated cotton lint are rewarded with higher world market prices, increasing revenues for both cotton enterprises and smallholder farmers.
DONOR: Common Fund for Commodities, European Union
Recent IFDC Projects in Côte d’Ivoire
- Marketing Inputs Regionally (MIR), 2002-2008
The MIR project increased the affordability and accessibility of quality inputs for targeted smallholders in West Africa, and provided technical support and training for farmers and dealers. MIR developed regional and national regulatory frameworks, supported the advancement of farmer and agro-dealer associations, facilitated dialogue along the value chain and implemented sustainable development of the cotton agro-input sub-sector.
DONOR: The Netherlands' Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS)
Côte d’Ivoire Information
Cape Verde Articles
MIR Plus (Taken from IFDC Report Volume 36, No. 2)