MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Ivory Coast
Index
Agriculture was the foundation of the economy and its
main
source of growth. In 1987 the agricultural sector
contributed 35
percent of the country's GDP and 66 percent of its export
revenues,
provided employment for about two-thirds of the national
work
force, and generated substantial revenues despite the drop
in
coffee and cocoa prices. From 1965 to 1980, agricultural
GDP grew
by an average 4.6 percent per year. Growth of agricultural
GDP from
coffee, cocoa, and timber production, which totaled nearly
50
percent of Côte d'Ivoire's export revenues, averaged 7
percent a
year from 1965 to 1980. Contributing to this impressive
performance
were an abundance of fertile land, cheap labor, the
collective
efforts of many farmers cultivating small plots,
relatively
favorable commodity prices, and a stable political
environment.
Success in the 1960s and 1970s overshadowed major
problems
developing in the agricultural sector. By the late 1980s,
despite
efforts to diversify its crops, 55 percent of Côte
d'Ivoire's
export earnings still came from cocoa and coffee.
Moreover, highly
volatile world markets for both commodities caused sharp
fluctuations in government revenues and made development
planning
difficult. In addition, Côte d'Ivoire was not yet
self-sufficient
in food production and imported substantial quantities of
rice,
wheat, fish, and red meat. Finally, despite an enormous
increase in
the volume of agricultural output since independence,
there was
little improvement in agricultural productivity. To
achieve higher
production figures, traditional farmers using traditional
technologies simply cleared more and more land.
To overcome Côte d'Ivoire's excessive dependence on
coffee and
cocoa (the prices for which were set by consumers), on
timber (the
supply of which was nearly exhausted), and on imported
food, the
government in the mid-1970s embarked on a series of
agricultural
diversification and regional development projects with the
hope of
boosting agricultural production by 4 percent per year.
The plan,
estimated to cost CFA F100 billion per annum (with just
over 50
percent coming from foreign lenders) would allow the
country to
become self-sufficient in food (with the exception of
wheat) and
expand the production of rubber, cotton, sugar, bananas,
pineapples, and tropical oils.
In spite of these efforts, the agricultural sector
appeared
unable to adapt to changing conditions. Distortions in the
system
of incentives reduced the comparative advantage of
alternative
crops. The vast revenues collected by the CSSPPA were
often spent
on marginally profitable investments, like the costly
sugar
complexes or expensive land clearing programs
(see Diversification Crops
, this ch.). Finally, some diversification crops,
like coconut
and palm oil, faced new threats as health-conscious
consumers in
the United States and Europe began turning away from
tropical oils.
Consequently, the future for Ivoirian agriculture remained
cloudy.
Data as of November 1988
|
|