Daloa, Aug 18 - Poor distribution of pesticides has left swathes of cocoa farms in Ivory Coast's centre-west heartland untreated and may reduce output in the upcoming 2008-09 season, farmers and exporters said on Monday.
Coordinated programmes to treat cocoa trees against disease have resumed after a two year halt, but farmers say coverage this year was limited to just 30 percent of their requirements around Daloa, in the centre-west, due to lack of funds.
Fungicides and pesticides to control diseases such as blackpod and swollen shoot are meant to be distributed by the Fund for the Development and Promotion of Coffee-Cocoa Activity (FDPCC), which helps farmers in the world's top cocoa producer.
"The fund only gives one or two boxes to treat all our fields, which total 5 hectares. With that you can only treat 2 or 3 hectares, once a year, instead of the four times you are meant to do it," farmer Denis Djedje told Reuters.
"We can't achieve good production with that, even though we all chip in," he said at his farm 20 km (13 miles) from Daloa.
The FDPCC is a union funded through a 25 CFA franc ($0.056) levy on each kilogram of cocoa sold and aims to improve production as well as working conditions in the cocoa industry.
During a visit to farms around Daloa, farmers told a Reuters reporter the distribution of pesticides covered just 30 percent of their needs. Bunches of green pods were visible on trees, along with flowers and buds. But, from the trees shown to Reuters by farmers, volumes appeared to be roughly half the amounts that were seen in the record seasons of 2003-2004 and 2004-2005.
"This year's production might be good, but if we had treated our fields when we should have done, i.e. in June and July, we might be having a greater production," said Julien Dali, a grower at Ouragahio, 25 km (16 miles) from the town of Gagnoa.
Farmers in the Sinfra area complained in particular about swollen shoot while elsewhere blackpod has been a problem.
CRISIS
Ivory Coast is emerging from a civil war sparked by a failed 2002 coup against President Laurent Gbagbo. The worst fighting ended after a few months, but the country remained split for years into a rebel-held north and government-controlled south.
Although the cocoa industry was not greatly affected, insecurity and informal taxation by armed men on all sides drove costs up and undermined the confidence of farmers to expand.
A crack-down on graft has also created uncertainty in the cocoa sector after the detentions on corruption charges of several high-ranking industry officials.
As the country heads towards polls, which are planned for November but risk being again delayed, one exporter called for a sanguine approach to concerns about production in the Daloa region, which was one of the most affected by the war.
"It may be true that we have slightly lower volumes at the beginning of the 2008/09 season, at least over the first three or four weeks, but I think things will sort themselves out," said the exporter, who is based in Daloa.
But he did share the farmers' concerns about the emergence of diseases that were not previously seen in the area.
"In the long-term, we need to find a solution to the lack of pesticides, especially with the increasing strength of the diseases cocoa is facing, otherwise, if nothing is done, we risk having some difficult seasons if nothing is done," he said.