(Ecofin Agency) - Côte d’Ivoire’s Coffee and Cocoa council (CCC) will launch a grubbing-up operation covering 300,000 ha of cocoa farms infested by Swollen shoot virus, over the next 3 years, a senior source at the organization told Reuters.

This program which aims to improve cocoa output will however be followed by a decrease of 150, 000 tons in the country’s yield, over the related period.

According to Ivorian authorities, more than 16,000 ha of cocoa farms have been uprooted in 2014-17, to fight against this viral disease.

While its actual field yield stands at about 500 kg, Côte d’Ivoire targets at least one ton of cocoa per ha, by 2023.    

Espoir Olodo