This sector has high growth potential as the government and donors implement programs to improve the quality and quantity of agricultural production, increase crop yields, prioritize development up the agro-processing value chain, and diversify agriculture.
Overview
Agriculture remains one of the leading sectors of Côte d’Ivoire’s economy. Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s top exporter of cocoa beans and raw cashews. Agriculture accounts for a quarter of GDP and approximately 60 percent of export receipts. The sector employs two-thirds of the active population. In addition to cocoa and cashews, Côte d’Ivoire is a net exporter of major cash crops grown by small- and large-scale farmers including coffee, rubber, cotton, palm oil, and bananas. The country imports wheat, corn meal, and dairy products and has become the fifth largest rice importer in the world, with 1.25 million tons per year. Côte d’Ivoire is the sixth-largest producer of milled rice in sub-Saharan Africa. The country produced 2.3 million tons of milled rice in 2022. The Ivoirian government aims to be self-sufficient in milled rice by 2030. It seeks to increase domestic production to two million metric tons (MMT) by 2025 from its current 1.48 MMT. To be self-sufficient, Côte d’Ivoire need to produce 2.5 million tons of milled rice.
To improve farmers’ living conditions, the government wants to accelerate the processing of agricultural raw materials and strengthen the value chain of certain products and modernize agriculture through the National Agricultural Investment Program (PNIA II) by 2025 estimated at $19.8 million. The country’s main agricultural products are, for the most part, currently exported unprocessed. The government is keen to attract investment in the domestic processing of cashew nuts, cocoa, palm oil (as biofuel, refined industrial oil, and derived products such as soaps and margarines) and other value-added products.
The government welcomes the importation of environmentally friendly agricultural inputs. The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development has been engaged in a campaign to stop the sale and utilization of counterfeit and expired agricultural inputs.
Leading Sub-Sectors
There are commercial prospects in:
- Unmilled rice, rice seeds, and rice cultivation equipment
- Agricultural inputs, such as seeds, agro-chemicals and fertilizer
- Farm equipment and agricultural services, such as training of farmers
- Agricultural processing, such as cocoa, cashew, mango, rubber, palm seeds, etc.
Opportunities
American companies will find that Ivoirian businesses welcome American agricultural products, from seeds to farm equipment. The number of American companies in the cashew and cocoa sectors provides other American companies with supply chain opportunities. Additional opportunities exist in providing goods and services in agro-processing, as the government offers tax exemptions to encourage the expansion of agro-processing. All agricultural chemicals are imported; the government would welcome local production. To operate in this field, companies must have a license granted by the Ministry of Agriculture. The primary end-users of agricultural chemical imports are Ivoirian farmers’ cooperatives and professional associations, as well as large agro-businesses.
Resources
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Palm Oil Council
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development
- National Agronomic Research Center (CNRA)
- Crop Life Côte d’Ivoire
- Inter-professional Fund for Agricultural Research (FIRCA)
- National Agency to Support Rural Development
- Côte d’Ivoire Cotton and Cashew Council
- Côte d’Ivoire Coffee and Cocoa Council
- Organization of Agriculture Professionals in the Cotton Sector (Intercoton)
- Côte d’Ivoire’s Export Promotion Agency
- Centre de Promotion des Investissements en Côte d’Ivoire
- Côte d‘Ivoire Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- National Office of Technical Studies and Development (BNETD)
- Ivoirian Customs Office
- National Agency for Rice Development (ADERIZ)