Scope Of Rainfall Variability In The Shift Of The Cocoa Growing Area From The East Central Region To The Central West Of Cote D'ivoire

摘要

The thrust of t his study aims to determine the part of rainfall variability in the shift of former cocoa growing area from c ent ral east to the central west regions , the new cocoa growing area. Two pilot localities known for their cocoa production were selected for this current paper. The first one is Abengourou and Dimbokro for the former cocoa growing area and the localities of Daloa and Divo as new coca growing area . The data used are rainfall (yearly and monthly) and the yearly produc tion of cocoa. The software for statistical and cartographic analysis was utilized for data analysis. The results from the different localities show a decrease of the agricultural production in the former cocoa growing area and its increase in the new one from 1970S . Th e threshold rainfall of 700 mm per year to guarantee the productivity of cocoa tree is reached at 33% in the former cocoa growing area and 45% in the new one . Also, the minimum threshold of 70 mm per year to allow the survival of cocoa tree during dry season is reached at about 50% in the former area and more than 70% in the new cocoa growing area . The weak correlations between cocoa production and rainfall in both mean that rainfall is not the only r eason that has contributed to the shift of the cocoa growing area from the central east to the west central area .