Despite rapid urban growth, Côte d’Ivoire remains largely dependent on agriculture. Rural areas of the country, which are poorer than urban centres, are also modernising more slowly. To address economic vulnerability in rural communities, the government has rolled out a series of policy measures aimed at upgrading farming practices while maintaining sustainability, improving infrastructure, and expanding domestic agro-processing. These priorities are central to the National Development Plan for 2026-2030, which is currently being finalised.

In mid-2025, the Ivorian government launched the Agricultural Commodities Exchange, a market platform intended to bring more structure to how agricultural produce is priced.

In Côte d’Ivoire, prices have long been shaped by bilateral negotiations between farmers and buyers, often based on subjective assessments of quality. The new exchange introduces an independent intermediary, a licensed broker, tasked with evaluating products and facilitating transactions under standardised conditions.

First proposed in 2016, the exchange operates through a network of certified warehouses where farmers can deposit their produce ahead of sale. Authorities say the system is designed to improve price transparency, limit market volatility and strengthen agricultural value chains.

Cashew nuts, kola nuts and maize are currently traded on the exchange. Around 20 additional products are expected to be added, including cocoa, a cornerstone of Côte d’Ivoire’s economy.

The project forms part of broader efforts by the government to improve farmers’ incomes in a country where agriculture remains central. The sector employs about 60% of the workforce, contributes roughly 25% of gross domestic product and accounts for 40% of exports.

Over the past 15 years, Côte d’Ivoire has recorded average annual growth of more than 6%, driven by sustained political stability and public investment. While rural areas have benefited from this expansion, gains have been uneven, with cities leading in job creation and modernisation.

Food crop farming continues to suffer from low yields, while export-oriented sectors, though expanding, remain weakly processed locally, limiting value addition. The imbalance has weighed on rural living standards. In 2021, more than half of rural residents lived below the poverty line, compared with about 22% in urban areas, national statistics show.

To address these challenges, the government has rolled out long-term structural reforms, supported by targeted programmes such as the Food Crop Value Chain Development Project and the Agricultural Value Chain Support Programme.

Since early 2024, the National Chamber of Agriculture has also partnered with Ecobank to expand access to credit for farmers and agribusinesses. Backed by the state, the initiative aims to improve vocational training, upgrade infrastructure, modernise farming practices and raise agro-industrial output to international standards.

In mid-2025, the African Development Bank approved 116 million euros in financing to improve agricultural infrastructure and cross-border connectivity. The programme focuses on eastern and western border regions, where poor road conditions often force farmers to sell produce at a loss or leave it to spoil.

The project includes the rehabilitation of two key transport corridors and several urban roads, improving access to markets and boosting trade with Ghana and Liberia.

Poverty reduction remains a central policy goal. The government’s 2026–2030 National Development Plan, now being finalised, targets a nationwide poverty rate of below 20%. Officials say this cannot be achieved without faster income growth in rural areas.

Agricultural modernisation and stronger value chains are therefore a core pillar of the plan. Measures include raising productivity through improved techniques while limiting chemical inputs and deforestation, expanding market access through better infrastructure and platforms such as the commodities exchange, and increasing local processing in export sectors including cocoa, cotton, coffee and cashew.

At the close of the International Agriculture and Animal Resources Show in Abidjan in June 2025, Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé symbolised this push by handing over tractors, combine harvesters and other equipment to farmers. He said the government would remain focused on boosting productivity and accelerating transformation to deliver broader-based growth.