document, the institution common to the eight UEMOA member states notes that the gross added value of the primary sector increased by 1.6% in the third quarter of 2020, compared to the same period of the previous year, after an increase of 1.5% a quarter earlier.

This evolution reflects an increase in the rate of growth of livestock and fishing activities, as well as the increase in food production during the 2020/2021 agricultural season. According to the Agrhymet Regional Center, this would be marked by rainfall that was generally in excess of normal in the Sahelo-Sudanese strip of West Africa and a deficit in the southern coastal region of the Gulf of Guinea countries. On this basis, the expected yields of rainfed crops would be largely higher than the median values of the last 5

According to the first forecasts available, food production would increase by 3.5% during the 2020/2021 season compared to the previous season, standing at 69,277,297 tons. This increase would come from the increase in cereal harvests by 3.7%, tubers by 3.0% and other crops by 3.9%, bringing them to 31,510,992 tons, 25,041,673 tons and 12,724,632 tons respectively. Compared to the average of the previous five years, the 2020/2021 harvest is expected to increase

The productions of the main cash crops are expected to show contrasting trends during the 2020/2021 agricultural season. The quantity of groundnuts for the 2020/2021 season is expected to amount to 3,674,650 tonnes, up 4.2% compared to the previous season, due to the good distribution of rainfall, which would encourage increased production in all EU Member States

Cashew nut production is expected to reach 1,404,448 tons in the 2020/2021 season, up 25.7% compared to the previous season. This trend is mainly due to a 42.1% increase in the harvests recorded in Côte d'Ivoire, in conjunction with the closure of borders, which has reduced the outflow of production to certain

Rubber production would amount to 526,186 tons in the 2020/2021 season, an increase of 10.0% compared to the previous agricultural season, as a result of the increase in the areas entered into production. On the other hand, the cottonseed harvest would amount to 2,263,727 tons in the 2020/2021 season, down 17.1%

Cocoa production would fall by 8.2% during the 2020/2021 season, reaching 2,064,692 tonnes within the Union. This situation would mainly result from Côte d'Ivoire's desire to limit the supply of this speculation, in order to avoid a collapse in world prices. Coffee production would amount to 106,655 tons during the 2020/2021 season, down by 7.6% compared to the previous season, due in particular to vegetative rest due to the production cycle as well as measures taken by Côte d'Ivoire to rationalize the exploitation of forest resources and preserve the