Just as Ghana celebrated its second real transition of power to President John Atta Mills, its neighbor, the Côte d’Ivoire, continues to struggle with preparations for the long delayed election. The country has yet to settle the divisions that caused the 2002-03 civil war and despite the support of the United Nations, the preparations for country-wide elections have not made much progress.
Posts Tagged ‘Côte d’Ivoire’
Côte d’Ivoire Elections will be delayed again
Friday, January 9th, 2009Cocoa Deliveries Continue to Lag in West Africa
Thursday, December 18th, 2008Global cocoa prices seem to be on an upswing after riding the speculative roller coaster up and down earlier this year. The New York closed for March cocoa reached $2,610/ton, a new high after falling as low as $2,080 in November. This time around, though, that increase seems to have some real basis on the ground. There is less cocoa to be had.
More News from the Côte d’Ivoire
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008Child Labor Update
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008Last week, the Payson Center of Tulane University published its second annual report evaluating public and private initiatives to combat the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sectors of Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire. These reports are produced under a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor.
The report concludes that
- Children in the rural areas continue working in cocoa production and in other agricultural and economic activities, some as young as 5 years of age.
- A large percentage of the children working in cocoa report involvement in hazardous work and injuries while performing agricultural tasks, including the use of tools and equipment, carrying heavy loads, and exposure to environmental hazards. Some children are also involved in spraying pesticides and in the application of other chemicals. Some of these activities have been classified worst forms of child labor by the Governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
- There is little evidence of the unconditional worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector – child trafficking, forced labor, etc. – as a percentage of the population. However, there is evidence of child trafficking to Côte d’Ivoire from neighboring countries.
- Of note in the Tulane’s population-based survey of Nov/Dec 2007 was that the vast majority of children in the cocoa-growing areas – 95% in Ghana and 98% in Côte d’Ivoire (weighted data) – do not report exposure to any intervention projects in support of children in the rural areas. While these children may still benefit from interventions indirectly and without their knowledge, these percentages are low enough to merit further field validation (Second Annual Report, page 10).
Cocoa Farmers block Cocoa Delivery in the Côte d’Ivoire
Monday, October 20th, 2008I reported a couple of weeks ago that the new management committee for the cocoa sector in the Côte d’Ivoire set a new indicative price of CFA700 ($1.48) per kilogram for the 2008/09 cocoa season. That represented a forty percent increase over the indicative price of the previous season. I also reported that this indicative price is not a mandatory price. That is, traders and other middle men can pay more or less depending on the quality of the cocoa and market conditions. But that’s not how Ivorian cocoa farmers see it.
