STORY: Cote d'Ivoire launches 1st National Cotton and Cashew Producers' Days
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 17-18, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 20, 2025
LENGTH: 00:05:45
LOCATION: Abidjan
CATEGORY: AGRICULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the event
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (French): KOBENAN KOUASSI ADJOUMANI, Minister of State and Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Cote d'Ivoire
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): TIEMOKO MEYLIET KONE, Vice president of Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (French): MAMADOU BERTHE, Director General of Cotton and Cashew Council of Cote d'Ivoire
5. various of the event

STORYLINE:

Cote d'Ivoire hosted last week its first edition of National Cotton and Cashew Producers' Days (JNPCA) in the nation's economic capital of Abidjan.

JNPCA was held Friday and Saturday with the goal of "sustainably developing the potential of the cotton and cashew nut sectors for prosperous producers." The event acknowledged the achievements of national cotton and cashew producers and sought to enhance these two crucial sectors of Cote d'Ivoire's economy.

With annual production reaching 1.225 million tonnes in 2023, Cote d'Ivoire accounts for approximately 40 percent of the global cashew supply. Additionally, the country is the third-largest cashew processor globally.

Cote d'Ivoire is also one of the only three cotton-producing nations in West and Central Africa.

SOUNDBITE 1 (French): KOBENAN KOUASSI ADJOUMANI, Minister of State and Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Cote d'Ivoire
"For the 2025 campaign, President Alassane Ouattara has agreed to a very substantial increase of 54 percent in the farm gate price of cashew nuts compared to the previous campaign.
This adjustment will increase the income of cashew producers by 173 billion CFA francs. That is, this year it is expected that 489 billion CFA francs will be redistributed to cashew producers. For the 2025 planting season, the minimum purchase price for well-dried and screened cashew nuts is set at 425 CFA francs per kilogram."

SOUNDBITE 2 (French): TIEMOKO MEYLIET KONE, Vice president of Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
"This important event gives us the opportunity to express the state's recognition towards the players in these sectors which are so essential to the Ivorian economy.
I'm even more pleased that the cotton and cashew sectors have performed particularly well over the past decade, demonstrating their dynamism, resilience and significant contribution to the economic and social progress of our country.
Bold reforms, strategic investments and multiple supports for the agricultural world have not only increased production and secured the income of the actors concerned but also strengthened the competitiveness and sustainability of these sectors.
Despite the sometimes unfavorable climatic conditions and multiple factors affecting production, the policies put in place have made it possible to maintain the dynamism of this sector and, above all, to position Cote d'Ivoire among the main cotton producers in Africa.
As for cashew nuts, they have become a real driving force of our national economy in the space of a decade.
Indeed, since 2015, Cote d'Ivoire has been the world's leading producer of raw cashew nuts and the quantities of nuts processed locally have almost increased tenfold thanks to an ambitious industrial policy. And, in the same vein, producers' incomes have improved substantially over the period."

SOUNDBITE 3 (French): MAMADOU BERTHE, Director General of Cotton and Cashew Council of Cote d'Ivoire
"In the context of the zoning of the cotton basin, national production of seed cotton increased from 352,134 tonnes in 2013 to a record of 559,483 tonnes in 2021.
Despite the constraints, Cote d'Ivoire remains between third and fourth place among African cotton-producing countries.
As for the cashew nut, initially introduced to slow the advance of the desert in the north of our country, this ecological plant has risen to the rank of strategic cash crop.
In the 10 years after the 2013 reform, the production of raw cashew nuts increased from 500,000 to 1,200,000 tonnes in 2023, thus consolidating Cote d'Ivoire's position as the world leader in the production and trade of raw nuts.
At the same time, initiatives to promote local processing have borne fruit, reaching more than 344,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts processed in 2024 compared to barely 31,000 in 2013, a tenfold increase in the space of a decade."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Abidjan.
(XHTV)