Ivory Coast, Ghana And Nigeria Coffee, Cocoa Heat Up
By Drew Lerner
Kansas City, February 22 (World Weather Inc.) – Hot temperatures occurred in west-central Africa during the weekend stressing coffee and cocoa trees as well as sugarcane produced in much of the region from Ivory Coast to Nigeria. The heat will continue for the next week to nearly ten days, although there is not excessive wind predicted. Seasonal rainfall will be sluggish in evolving 
with only a limited number of showers expected during this forecast period.
Temperatures started heating up in west-central Africa late last week and they became hot during the weekend with highest temperatures in coffee, cocoa and some sugarcane areas ranged in the upper 30s to 41 degrees Celsius of upper 90s to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat is not unusual ahead of the rainy season, but too much heat can stress crops more severely.
Last year’s reduced production of coffee and cocoa resulted from El Nino conditions and some trees may be a little weaker than usual. The weaker condition of crops may reduce some of their tolerance to the hot weather raising the need for relief from the heat and dryness soon.
None of the recent heat has come with a strong Harmattan Wind which is often feared in coffee and cocoa areas because it can desiccate crops at rapid pace. Harmattan winds usually blow from the northeast and are extreme dry winds. However, there has been no anomalously strong wind in coffee or cocoa areas and the outlook is for similar conditions to prevail for a while.
Seasonal rains are expected to be a little slow getting started this year. Normally, scattered showers occur at this time of year and increase in March bringing relief to hot weather like that which is prevailing today. Many producers look at the heat and a potential benefit for healthy crops because it tends to bring a more profuse flowering to trees when seasonal rains evolve. Blossom buds this year may be more limited in areas where the 2015 drought was most serious. The situation will need to be closely monitored.
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