Agricultural sectors: How Abidjan wants to make the informal economy the engine of agribusiness

In Côte d’Ivoire, 91.6% of agricultural jobs were informal in 2021, while the food-processing industry accounted for an average of 5.9% of GDP between 2021 and 2024. Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné describes producers, collectors, transporters, processors and traders as essential infrastructure for agribusiness. Local processing is growing: 42% of cocoa is ground domestically and 42.6% of cashew nuts are processed, generating nearly 20,000 direct jobs. The government wants to support gradual formalization and better traceability without excluding small producers, while expanding processing SMEs and higher-value finished products.