WILLAGRI
Climate Central, an independent research group on climate change, published a report in April on the effects of climate change on cocoa cultivation in West Africa. Climate change, driven mainly by fossil fuels, coal and methane, is leading to an increase in the frequency of high temperatures in the four West African countries that produce about 70% of the world’s cocoa – the key ingredient in chocolate. Analysis of daily maximum temperatures over the past decade shows that climate change has caused the number of weeks with temperatures above 32°C per year to increase by three weeks during the main cocoa-growing season (October-March) in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. These temperatures are above the optimal temperature range for cocoa trees. During the same period, climate change added just over two weeks above 32°C* per year during the main growing season in Cameroon and more than a week in Nigeria. In 2024, human-caused climate change will add six weeks above 32°C in 71% of cocoa-growing areas in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. While many factors, such as rainfall and insect-borne infections, can affect cocoa trees, excessive heat can contribute to reduced crop quantity and quality, which could drive up global chocolate prices and impact local economies in West Africa.
Read the report: https://irdev.org/41vnhjt