Commodity chief presents Africa's viewpoint

摘要

Mr Djikalou has held this post since his nomination in July 2001, following in the footsteps of renowned Permanent Representatives such as Seydou Elimane Diarra and Guy-Alain Gauze, to name but a few. Concurrently, he serves as spokesman for cocoa-producing countries at the ICCO, and has had the honour of chairing the International Coffee Council during the last coffee year. Recently, he was entrusted with the task force on the future of the International Coffee Agreement. Asked what he believed arethe biggest challenges facing producers in Africa today, Mr Djikalou highlighted the fact that cocoa and coffee are both very important commodities for Cote d'lvoire. "We are the first in the world as a producer of cocoa, and one of the largest exportersof robusta coffee in Africa, and we have been and are still very concerned with improving the livelihoods of cocoa and coffee farmers, following the liberalisation of both sectors. You must understand that although farmers are some of the most importantplayers in the supply chain, they remain the weakest link in most cases. This is due to the fact that there are still many hurdles that need to be overcome before the latter are truly empowered and able to compete with the big multi-nationals," MR Djikalou told C&CI.