Steady rainfall in many of the Ivory Coast’s main cocoa-growing regions will produce enough small and average-sized pods to ensure a strong mid-crop from March to August, farmers said on Monday.

Ivory Coast, ‌the world’s top cocoa producer, is currently in its dry season, running officially from mid-November to March, when rains are poor and scarce.

The government ​announced last week that it was cutting the fixed farmgate ​price paid to cocoa farmers by 57% to 1,200 ⁠CFA francs ($2.14) per kg for the mid-crop.

Farmers across the country said they were happy with the regular rainfall since the beginning of March, which they said was crucial for the development of the mid-crop.

"The rainfall is good. The cocoa that will come out of the ​bush this year during the mid-crop will be much more ​compared to last season," said Samuel Gnepa, who farms in the southern region ‌of ⁠Divo, where 44.3 mm of rain fell last week, 29.8 mm above the five-year average.

Rainfall was also above average last week in the western region of Soubre, though it was below average ​in the southern ​region of Agboville, ⁠the eastern region of Abengourou, the centre-west region of Daloa and the central regions of Bongouanou ​and Yamoussoukro.

Even farmers in regions with below-average rainfall ​predicted ⁠a healthy harvest.

"The size of the beans will be better compared to last season," said Jean-Marie Aka, who farms near Daloa, which ⁠recorded 13 ​mm of rainfall last week, 2.3 ​mm below the average.

The weekly average temperature ranged from 28.5 to 31.7 degrees Celsius.