(Ecofin Agency) - World Bank will grant $500 million to Côte d’Ivoire to develop cocoa and cashew sectors. This information, relayed by Agence ivoirienne de presse (AIP), was announced by Makhtar Diop (photo), the bank’s vice president for Africa.

$300 million will be allocated to the cocoa sector while $200 million will be directed to the cashew sector. The fund should be granted in the first half of 2018 and will specifically be used to boost the crops’ higher-added-value processing.

For the record, the Ivorian government plans to increase its current 31% cocoa processing rate to at least 50% and process the entire cashew yield by 2020.

Espoir Olodo