Côte d’Ivoire Seeks to Boost Local Agricultural Processing and Reduce Informality

Côte d’Ivoire plans to expand local agricultural processing, strengthen links between small-scale producers and agro-industrial companies, and improve farmers’ incomes as part of efforts to modernize its agricultural sector, Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné said on Thursday.

Speaking at a conference organised by the Economic, Social, Environmental and Cultural Council (CESEC) in Abidjan, Koné outlined the government’s strategy to better integrate informal agricultural activities into formal value chains and increase the amount of locally processed produce.

“The ambition is to move from an agriculture based on primary products to one producing goods that are ready for consumption,” he said, according to a government statement.

The strategy forms part of the National Development Plan for 2026-2030, which prioritises agricultural modernisation, stronger value chains, private investment and efforts to reduce informality.

The government plans to establish agro-industrial hubs, known as agropoles, in major agricultural regions to organise production, support small-scale producers and improve links between farms and processing companies.

The hubs are intended to help coordinate supply, improve productivity and increase the value generated at each stage of the agricultural chain. The government also aims to ease the tax burden on producers operating within these arrangements.

Koné said the approach could improve efficiency and increase incomes for farmers and other participants in the value chain.

Authorities also intend to strengthen product traceability, allowing agricultural goods to be tracked from plantations to international markets.

Côte d’Ivoire is one of the world’s leading producers of cocoa and cashew nuts, but increasing the share of agricultural products processed domestically remains a central economic objective.

Processing crops locally can create additional value, generate industrial jobs and reduce reliance on exporting unprocessed commodities. Achieving this, however, requires reliable supplies of raw materials, investment in equipment and infrastructure, and stronger coordination between producers and industrial buyers.

CESEC President Eugène Aka Aouélé said the council needed to anticipate changes in the agricultural economy, particularly as the country seeks to diversify its sources of growth beyond its traditional reliance on coffee and cocoa.

He called for greater local processing, increased value addition and job creation, while stressing the importance of securing supplies for agro-industrial companies and strengthening the contribution of informal businesses to wealth creation.

A central challenge for the government is improving coordination between informal producers and formal agro-industrial businesses. Fragmented production, limited processing capacity and difficulties securing consistent supplies can constrain the development of domestic value chains.

The proposed agropoles are intended to address some of these challenges by bringing producers and other agricultural operators into better-organised systems.

The success of the strategy will depend on investment, access to markets, effective implementation and the extent to which farmers benefit from higher-value processing.

For Côte d’Ivoire, the longer-term objective is to build a more productive and competitive agricultural economy that creates jobs, increases rural incomes and captures a greater share of the value generated from its crops.