Impact of agricultural supervision on the performance of cotton producers in the north of Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

The cotton sector in Côte d'Ivoire has long been under state control, through state structures and companies. But, faced with numerous macroeconomic imbalances, the government had to engage in sector reforms in the early 1990s. Despite its reforms, the supervision of producers is encountering difficulties. The objective of this article is to know the structuring of agricultural supervision by identifying the role, activities, actors as well as the constraints faced by both agricultural advisers and producers of Korhogo. This is a joint study carried out in the villages of Bafimé, Dassoungbo and Dassounblé as well as at the General Directorate of the Ivorian Cotton Company (COIC). 68 individuals made up of cotton producers, Agricultural Advisers and officers of the Directorate were interviewed. It emerges that the slowness of the structuring of the supervision leads to dysfunctions in the supervision process of the Ivorian cotton company. Local knowledge is a limiting factor in the application of the practices advocated for Agricultural Advisors. Finally, the lack of human and material resources explains the ineffectiveness of the support actions of cotton producers.