Côte d'Ivoire

The main-season maize harvest is currently underway in the southern bimodal parts of the country, with average prospects supported by generally favourable rains throughout the season. Planting of the secondary maize crop, predominantly cultivated in the south, is ongoing and will be completed in September. In the North, which only has one rainy season, planting of the 2026 coarse grains was recently finalized, with harvesting expected to begin in October. Crop conditions are below-average in the northern regions of Savanes, Denguélé, and Bandama, where approximately 30% of the active crop area is showing signs of a greenness anomaly. The poor crop conditions are primarily attributed to the ongoing security and humanitarian crises in the Central Sahel, which continue to spill over into northern Côte d’Ivoire. Persistent regional instability is driving an influx of refugees into these northern areas, restricting access to both farmland and grazing areas (FEWS NET, WFP, UNHCR). Looking ahead, the Copernicus C3S Multimodel seasonal rainfall forecast for September 2026 predicts drier-than-average conditions across central and southern regions, while the rest of the country is expected to receive near-average rainfall.