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February 28, 2002
Cote d’Ivoire’s milled rice production for MY2001/02 is estimated at 580,000 tons, up 100,000 from last November's estimate, and up 10,000 from last year. The bumper harvest was a record (Figure 1), due to area expansion and good rainfall distribution from April-October, 2001.
Figure 1. Historical Rice Production in Cote d'Ivoire
Rainfall during the 2001 growing season (April-October) was not especially good in the upland regions in the west, but rainfall was good in the southern and northern parts of the country (Figure 2). During recent years, weather has been unfavorable for upland rice production due to erratic rainfall. This situation has led farmers to cultivate less upland rice and shift rice cultivation to lowland areas when possible.
Figure 2. Percent of Average Precipitation from April-October 2001
Rice is the principal food crop grown in many areas of Côte d'Ivoire (crop zones, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) and is one of the most important staple foods for the country’s urban population. Ivorian farmers produced 839,000 tons of paddy rice (rice production map), harvested on 612,000 hectares (rice area map), with an average yield of 1.4 tons/ha during the past 5-years.
The three principal types of rice production systems found in the country are: rainfed upland, rainfed lowland, and irrigated lowland. In general, rainfed upland (dry) rice has the lowest yields, rainfed lowland rice has intermediate yields, and irrigated lowland rice has the highest yields. Irrigated lowland rice is less than 5 percent of the total rice area planted; upland rice accounts for 20-25 percent of total rice production; and rainfed lowland rice comprises 70-75 percent of total rice production. Current rice varieties cultivated are both low yielding 3-4 month varieties and higher yielding 6-7 month varieties. However, rice varieties with 3-4 month cycles have become more popular in recent years due to less drought risk, and less time or labor requirements.
Rainfed upland rice is produced in well-drained areas, with water tables lower than the root system. In Cote d’Ivoire, upland rice production is widespread, but commonly found in the hilly forest zone in the southwest and in the cotton growing savanna areas in the north (rice crop zone). Upland rice yields are low, while dependent on seasonal rainfall distribution and the water retention capacities of the soil. Drought risk is the main production constraint, especially during the dry period in the southern bimodal areas (crop calendar).
Rainfed lowland rice is produced in low-lying waterlogged areas, with high water tables that submerge the root zone. Lowland rice can be further distinguished as inland valley wetlands located throughout the country or seasonal floodplains located along the rivers primarily in the northwest. For most lowland systems, water control remains limited and continues to constrain yields. The generally held view was that upland rice dominated rice production in Cote d’Ivoire (FAO), but the USDA (attaché report) estimates that rainfed lowland rice production is currently dominant and accounts for about 70 percent of Ivorian rice production.
Irrigated lowland rice production in Cote d’Ivoire remains low. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates irrigated rice area in Cote d’Ivoire at 25,000 hectares, or less than 5 percent of the total national area under rice. Irrigated lowlands include different degrees of water control, from small-scale slightly improved valley bottom wetlands (dike structures, derivation canals) found mostly in the southwest, to larger-scale irrigation schemes with water storage or pumping concentrated in the north central area. High input cost, limited access to credit facilities, and neglected irrigated works have also contributed to limited irrigated rice in Cote d’Ivoire.
During the 1970s, the government invested towards the rice sector with an extensive program of irrigation and valley-bottom development; construction of industrial rice mills; and government controlled paddy and rice sales. Current government objectives include rehabilitating irrigated systems and developing additional valley swamps.
Other Links
USDA/FAS Attaché report
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200110/130682135.pdf
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
http://www.riceweb.org/countries/icoast.htm
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGP/AGPC/doc/riceinfo/Africa/CDIBODY.HTM
Library of Congress
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ci0097)
For more information, contact Curt Reynolds with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division at (202) 690-0134.
