Gagnoa

Gagnoa, town, southern Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It is the chief collecting point for a forest region that sends coffee, cocoa, and timber (sipo and mahogany) to the coast for export and is a major market centre (rice, bananas, and yams) for the Bete and Gagu (Gagou) peoples. A paved road connects Gagnoa with Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. The town is the site of the government’s first rural technical institute (1961), a labour court, a sawmill, and a model housing project. Metalworking is a traditional art among the local Bete, and there are bauxite deposits in the vicinity. Gagnoa has both Roman Catholic and Protestant churches and is the seat of a Catholic diocese. Pop. (1998) 107,124.