Moussa Konate is an optimist who is cautiously tempering his hopes after a season in which his cocoa crop was devastated by disease.
The outlook is brightening on his small farm in Ivory Coast, where the October harvest is fast approaching. His trees are bearing abundant pods and the leaves are a healthy green.
That happy state reflects improvements in the West African cocoa belt that could help ease a huge supply shortage that has pushed prices to record highs this year. In addition to better weather, the 47-year-old has finally received pesticides to reduce damage from swollen shoot disease, and expects yields to be significantly higher than the few tonnes he collected last season.
