Côte d'Ivoire/ Toulepleu: people in the Péhé sub-prefecture learn about agroforestry

The people of the sous-préfecture of Péhé, Toulepleu department (Cavally region, western Côte d'Ivoire), and in particular coffee and cocoa producers, were made aware of agroforestry during an awareness-raising session held on Monday June 10, 2024, by Fadiga Valanciné, head of agricultural project follow-up at the Guémon/Cavally regional delegation of the Conseil café-cacao (DR-CCC).

According to Mr. Fadiga, the aim was to encourage local producers of the coffee-cocoa binomial to adopt agroforestry as a new agricultural practice on a "massive" scale. This farming practice not only protects their cocoa orchards, but also provides them with additional sources of income from the trees planted in their fields.

"We have asked these producers to join forces with us, so that together we can make a success of this project, which is a requirement of Western chocolate manufacturers, but also contributes to the sustainability of cocoa farming in Côte d'Ivoire", he said.

The head of agricultural project monitoring stressed that it was imperative to carry out this agroforestry awareness campaign in the sub-prefecture of Péhé, because 70% of the cocoa plantations in this locality are young plantations. And at an early stage of development, it is important to associate young cocoa trees with shade trees, knowing that this is the ideal time to do so, in the interest of the planters.

Fadiga Valanciné rightly pointed out that producers in this sub-prefecture will benefit from 5,625 tree seedlings out of some 35,000 destined for the entire Toulepleu department.

Source: www.aip.ci/