In Ivory Coast, the government has announced the cotton prices for the 2024-2025 season. The price for first-choice cotton seed is set at 310 CFA francs per kilo, and for second-choice cotton seed at 285 CFA francs per kilo, maintaining the same prices as last year. The government’s goal is to encourage producers to return to cotton cultivation, which many had abandoned due to a pest infestation.(RFI)

The ability to keep cotton prices at the previous year's levels is attributed to a supplementary subsidy of 3.67 billion CFA francs. Additional state subsidies will cover production factors, including fertilizers and newly approved insecticides.

Kassoum Silué, Director General of the Cotton Producers Federation (FPC-CI), has praised the government's efforts following two challenging years for the sector. Since 2022, Ivorian cotton crops have been regularly attacked by a pest called the jassid, native to Southeast Asia, which has caused yield losses estimated at half of the production.

Tens of thousands of indebted farmers had shifted from cotton cultivation to other crops perceived as less risky, such as maize and cashew nuts. Over the past two years, the number of cotton growers has dropped from 130,000 to 106,000. However, production has rebounded since last year, increasing from 236,000 tonnes in 2022-2023 to 348,000 tonnes. This rebound offers hope, according to Kassoum Silué, who anticipates that many producers will return to cotton fields.