West Africa collectively supplies two thirds of the world's cocoa crop, with Ivory Coast leading production at 1.8 million tonnes as of 2017, and nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo producing additional 1.55 million tonnes. Cocoa production increased by fifty percent in the first decade of the 21st century. Ivory Coast overtook Ghana as the world's leading producer of cocoa beans in 1978, and today is highly dependent on the crop, which accounts for 40% of national export income.

The major causes of low yield are a high incidence of pests and diseases, the old age of cocoa farms and lack of soil nutrients. Some of these challenges can be fixed by using the right quality fertilizers.