Abboisso

Abboisso is an important agricultural zone in southeastern Côte d’Ivoire, close to the Ghanaian border, and has long been associated with coffee and cocoa cultivation. Coffee production in Abboisso developed strongly during the colonial and early post-independence periods, when Côte d’Ivoire emerged as one of Africa’s leading coffee exporters.

The area lies within the humid forest belt, characterized by high rainfall (1,500–2,000 mm annually), warm temperatures, and deep, fertile forest soils that are well suited to coffee farming. Coffee is grown mainly at low to medium elevations (100–400 meters), conditions that favor Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora), the dominant variety cultivated in Abboisso and across much of southern Côte d’Ivoire. Robusta from this region is valued for its strong body and is widely used in blends and instant coffee production.

Coffee farming in Abboisso is dominated by smallholder producers, often managing mixed farms where coffee is intercropped with cocoa, plantain, cassava, and food crops. Traditional shade trees are commonly used to protect coffee plants from excessive heat and to maintain soil moisture. Harvesting is mostly manual, and post-harvest processing typically involves dry processing, which aligns with Robusta production systems in West Africa.

In recent decades, coffee cultivation in Abboisso has faced challenges such as aging plantations, fluctuating prices, competition from cocoa, and limited farm investment. As a result, some farmers have reduced coffee areas in favor of cocoa. Nevertheless, Abboisso remains a historically significant coffee-growing area, and with farm rehabilitation, improved varieties, and better market incentives, coffee continues to play a role in local livelihoods and the agricultural economy of southeastern Côte d’Ivoire.