Cote d’Ivoire is among the top 20 coconut producers in the world.  Its local economy largely depends on this fruit as a source of nutrition, animal feed and jobs creation venture for mostly occupied by women.

Observations made by HortiFresh indicates that, there is immense business opportunities in the sector and with the right interventions, the sector can be more internationally competitive.

That notwithstanding, the sector is faced with the challenge of Lethal Yellowing disease which hampers the competiveness of the sector.

The sector is working to establish a professional association to solve some of the challenges. Some experts in the sector have predicted that if a quick solution is not found to deal with the challenges of the sector especially the disease could decimate a large part of the country’s coconut plantations by 2025.