Ivorian cocoa growers rue ‘curse of brown gold’AFP, GUIGLO, Ivory CoastLaurent Kone’s wattle-and-daub house, with its tarpaulin roof and no electricity, lies down a bumpy red-earth track in western Ivory Coast. In his field, just a stone’s throw from his house, Kone still works only with a machete and wears open-toed shoes. However, the strategy is limited, as Ivory Coast has already lost 90 percent of its forest cover in 60 years. According to the World Bank, productivity in Ivorian cocoa groves has stagnated in the past 20 years, at about 450kg to 550kg per hectare. Additionally, Ivory Coast receives only 6 percent of the profits from the global cocoa industry.

Source: Taipei Times January 26, 2026 17:50 UTC