Ivory Coast Kola Nuts WEB
Metadata
- Ivory Coast Kola Nuts WEB
- June 20, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM Share ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Ivory Coast Kola Nuts - Ciyow HEADLINE: Lucrative Kola Nut Helps Energize Ivory Coast Economy TEASER: Farmers who grow the caffeinated seed are looking to extend their reach PUBLISHED: 6/20/2022 at 8:15am BYLINE: Yassin Ciyow CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Abidjan, Ivory Coast VIDEOGRAPHER: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; Reifenrath VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS: Web __ TV_x_ Radio___ TRT: 2:59 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: Pronunciation key for names: Yassin Ciyow: yah-SEEN see-oh Dramane Diarrassouba: DRAH-mah-nay dee-ar-ah-SOO-bah )) ((INTRO)) [[The kola nut — the caffeinated seed of the kola tree — has all kinds of uses. It’s an antioxidant, an ingredient in soft drinks and energy drinks and, some say, an aphrodisiac. It’s also big business in Ivory Coast. Yassin Ciyow reports from Abidjan in this story narrated by VOA’s Carol Guensburg. ]] ((NARRATOR)) The kola nut is indigenous to the coast of equatorial West Africa. And given its wide range of uses, including as an ingredient in soft drinks and energy drinks, exports are skyrocketing. The region’s big producers – Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone – produced over 260,000 tons of nuts in 2019, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In the same year, the industry was worth over 270 million dollars. Historically, the nut has been used during traditional events, such as this Muslim wedding in Anyama, a suburb of Abidjan. ((Dramane Diarrassouba, Kola Trader)) ((in French)) “In some corners of neighboring countries — Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger — offering a kola nut is like giving the world. An old man or an imam, you give him ten kola nuts, it's more than millions for him. It shows respect.” [[Radio: That’s Dramane Diarrassouba, a kola trader.]] ((NARRATOR)) Kola grower Hervé Degbossé looks to the nut for income. He has property in Agbovilla, a town in southeastern Ivory Coast. His seven hectares can produce up to 20 tons of kola nuts a year. He originally left the family farm for college – but came back because he believes kola nuts are where the money is. ((Hervé Degbossé, Kola Grower)) ((In French)) “If the kola business is open on the international market, I think that many will decide to get into it — the same way as with cocoa, rubber or palm oil." ((NARRATOR)) Anyama is the hub of kola trading in Ivory Coast. Souleymane Koné exports 10,000 tons of kola nuts a year to Nigeria. He is looking to expand his market. ((Souleymane Koné, Trader and Kola Exporter)) ((in French)) “We are looking to create a lot of plantations and go outside Africa — in Europe, Asia and the United States — to look for partners. If we have partners, we will do better. Kola must be known throughout the world.” ((NARRATOR)) When the market began growing, producers, traders and exporters formed the Inter-Professional Cola Association, or Intercola, in 2017. The organization's goal is to expand the use of the nut in all kinds of industries, especially the soda industry. [[Radio: Henri Biégo, a food security consultant and the association’s executive director, outlined Intercola’s goals.]] ((Henri Biégo, Inter-Professional Cola Association)) ((in French)) “The objective of the inter-professional association is to increase the industrial share. It adds value and limits post-harvest losses, which is the case when selling unprocessed nuts. We are moving toward a medium- and long-term approach of increasing the industrial share.” ((NARRATOR)) Kola nuts were used in the original Coca-Cola recipe. It’s not clear whether they still are on the super-secret list of Coke’s ingredients. But for these growers, getting the kola nut into more products is one big goal. ((For Yassin Ciyow in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Carol Guensburg, VOA News ))
- Transcript/Script USAGM Share ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Ivory Coast Kola Nuts - Ciyow HEADLINE: Lucrative Kola Nut Helps Energize Ivory Coast Economy TEASER: Farmers who grow the caffeinated seed are looking to extend their reach PUBLISHED: 6/20/2022 at 8:15am BYLINE: Yassin Ciyow CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Abidjan, Ivory Coast VIDEOGRAPHER: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; Reifenrath VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS: Web __ TV_x_ Radio___ TRT: 2:59 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: Pronunciation key for names: Yassin Ciyow: yah-SEEN see-oh Dramane Diarrassouba: DRAH-mah-nay dee-ar-ah-SOO-bah )) ((INTRO)) [[The kola nut — the caffeinated seed of the kola tree — has all kinds of uses. It’s an antioxidant, an ingredient in soft drinks and energy drinks and, some say, an aphrodisiac. It’s also big business in Ivory Coast. Yassin Ciyow reports from Abidjan in this story narrated by VOA’s Carol Guensburg. ]] ((NARRATOR)) The kola nut is indigenous to the coast of equatorial West Africa. And given its wide range of uses, including as an ingredient in soft drinks and energy drinks, exports are skyrocketing. The region’s big producers – Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone – produced over 260,000 tons of nuts in 2019, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In the same year, the industry was worth over 270 million dollars. Historically, the nut has been used during traditional events, such as this Muslim wedding in Anyama, a suburb of Abidjan. ((Dramane Diarrassouba, Kola Trader)) ((in French)) “In some corners of neighboring countries — Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger — offering a kola nut is like giving the world. An old man or an imam, you give him ten kola nuts, it's more than millions for him. It shows respect.” [[Radio: That’s Dramane Diarrassouba, a kola trader.]] ((NARRATOR)) Kola grower Hervé Degbossé looks to the nut for income. He has property in Agbovilla, a town in southeastern Ivory Coast. His seven hectares can produce up to 20 tons of kola nuts a year. He originally left the family farm for college – but came back because he believes kola nuts are where the money is. ((Hervé Degbossé, Kola Grower)) ((In French)) “If the kola business is open on the international market, I think that many will decide to get into it — the same way as with cocoa, rubber or palm oil." ((NARRATOR)) Anyama is the hub of kola trading in Ivory Coast. Souleymane Koné exports 10,000 tons of kola nuts a year to Nigeria. He is looking to expand his market. ((Souleymane Koné, Trader and Kola Exporter)) ((in French)) “We are looking to create a lot of plantations and go outside Africa — in Europe, Asia and the United States — to look for partners. If we have partners, we will do better. Kola must be known throughout the world.” ((NARRATOR)) When the market began growing, producers, traders and exporters formed the Inter-Professional Cola Association, or Intercola, in 2017. The organization's goal is to expand the use of the nut in all kinds of industries, especially the soda industry. [[Radio: Henri Biégo, a food security consultant and the association’s executive director, outlined Intercola’s goals.]] ((Henri Biégo, Inter-Professional Cola Association)) ((in French)) “The objective of the inter-professional association is to increase the industrial share. It adds value and limits post-harvest losses, which is the case when selling unprocessed nuts. We are moving toward a medium- and long-term approach of increasing the industrial share.” ((NARRATOR)) Kola nuts were used in the original Coca-Cola recipe. It’s not clear whether they still are on the super-secret list of Coke’s ingredients. But for these growers, getting the kola nut into more products is one big goal. ((For Yassin Ciyow in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Carol Guensburg, VOA News ))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date June 20, 2022 08:02 EDT
- Byline Yassin Ciyow
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America