Ivory Coast Political History. Art, Culture, Ethnic groups and Settlement. Central-West C?te d'Ivoire is a lush agricultural landscape, stuffed with rich banana, rice, and cocoa fields. The region is this West African nation's equivalent of the corn belt of Iowa and Illinois. A long drive down stretches of road left pockmarked by the ongoing rainy season yields endless repetitions of the same scene: Tiny villages each home to only a few dozen farmers...