Towards Sustainable Agrologistics in Developing Countries - Cocoa Supply Chain in Cote D ivoire (Inglês)

In agri-logistics, the MDTF-SL aims to assist developing countries in strengthening food security and improving the competitiveness of agricultural exports through reducing logistics and food losses along the supply chains. Sustainable and efficient agri-logistics...  Exibir mais + In agri-logistics, the MDTF-SL aims to assist developing countries in strengthening food security and improving the competitiveness of agricultural exports through reducing logistics and food losses along the supply chains. Sustainable and efficient agri-logistics is critical to the economic development of many African countries such as Côte d’Ivoire. It boosts agriculture productivity and improves food security for the growing urban population. Furthermore, it also increases employment and reduces poverty. The development of efficient logistics supply chains is essential for improving the daily lives of the population, firms and sectors of the economy. Côte d’Ivoire is a gateway to West Africa, boasting sizable exports and imports of agri-commodities in the region. The economy of Côte d’Ivoire is dominated by agriculture, in particular the growing of cocoa beans, the country’s largest export. Côte d’Ivoire supplies more than one-third of the world’s cocoa but processes only 30 percent of the total produced cocoa. This is because the market of the cocoa sector is highly concentrated, and the bulk of trade and processing of cocoa is dominated by a limited number of international exporters companies. The entry barriers to this market segment are very high, due to the large volumes required to produce and export cocoa derivatives and large investments in specific types of equipment, storage facilities and transportation. The port of San Pedro is considered as the main economic engine of the region and a key player in the logistics of the cocoa supply chain. Due to its geographic location from the economic capital city of Abidjan (350 km southeast) and its accessibility to a large hinterland, where the great part of cocoa production takes place, the port has attracted major international processing companies, international exporters, logistics services companies and other activities related to the agri-food and mining sectors (nickel from Biankoma and iron from Mont Klahoyo). From this perspective, the development of port infrastructures and its supporting logistics activities for the cocoa sector are very important to integrate the port in international logistics networks and to the hinterland, as well as improving the sustainability of the cocoa supply chain. This offers new opportunities to the port of San Pedro that may boost growth and mitigate environmental pollution, congestion and safety concerns. However, one of the most critical constraints in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire is the complexity, reliability and inefficiency of the supply chain operations, as well as the lack of a multi-tier supply chain management of the flows of goods and information, both upstream and downstream along the value chain. The cocoa supply chain is often too long, dysfunctional and characterized by the proliferation of a wide diversity of actors, with a large part not performing any logistics or marketing function that adds value to cocoa sector, while taking a share of the benefits, e.g. market prices. The farmers often do not have access to market information, finance, inputs and technology and their understanding of the quality requirements of the market is very weak. This translate into low productivity, low income, decreasing yield and hence the low competitiveness of the entire sector. More broadly, the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire faces major logistics challenges related to the structure and organization of the sector itself, as well as the configuration and management of the supply chain and network, which in turn is closely related to the economy, infrastructure, institutions, environment, socio-cultural and technological domains.  Exibir menos -