Ivory Coast seeks climate-tough cocoa bean

Ivory Coast researchers are developing cocoa varieties that can better withstand water stress as lower rainfall and rising temperatures threaten the world's top cocoa producer.

Scientists at the National Center for Agronomic Research are working on beans that are less sensitive to water availability. Geneticist Caudou Trebissou said researchers pollinate selected plants, test their offspring in greenhouses and expose them to different levels of water stress.

The researchers have produced 11 varieties they describe as satisfactory and plan eventually to release them on the market.

Ivory Coast produces nearly 40% of the world's cocoa. The crop accounts for 15% of the country's GDP and supports about five million people in a population of more than 33 million.

Rainfall has fluctuated since the 1950s but has declined steadily since the 1980s, according to a ministry of ecology report. CNRA agronomist Maryse Assi said rainfall in one region averaged just over 1,100 millimetres a year from 2003 to 2022, below the 1,200 to 2,000 millimetres cocoa trees need.

Farmers are also changing how they plant cocoa. Kofi Alexis Amani now grows cashew, iroko timber and banana trees among his cocoa trees to provide shade and help retain moisture.

The government has warned that, without action, Ivory Coast's cocoa production could fall 20% by 2050. Europe, the world's largest consumer of chocolate products, receives 70% of Ivorian cocoa exports.