“The informal sector is a resource to be organized”: Bruno Koné outlines his roadmap at CESEC

Speaking before CESEC in Abidjan on October 22, 2026, Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné called for connecting informal-sector actors to services, finance and sustainable markets rather than replacing them. He said the informal sector accounted for 91.6% of jobs in 2021, while the food-processing industry represented an average of just 5.9% of GDP from 2021 to 2024. Cocoa processing reached 739,000 tonnes, or 42% of production, in the 2023–2024 season, with a target of 50% by 2030. Cashew processing rose from 2% in 2011 to 42.6% in 2025, creating nearly 20,000 direct jobs, two-thirds held by women.