By: Ramsey N Singbeh Jr
Email: director@news.throngtalk.com
Contact: +231772641146 / 880147358
As a country in West Africa, one of the major challenges Liberia is faced with has got to do with producing what the citizens eat. Liberians eat rice and cassava as their stable food. The nation is also confronted with prioritizing and improving agriculture to benefit its people.
Throngtalk News Bureau sampled the views of individuals both Liberians and a Non-Liberian National about their views on what the country’s agriculture sector needs to be ameliorated from its current state. Most of these people were reached out to at the first national agriculture fair under President Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s Administration in December of 2024.
Some of the people are officials and former officials of government of the Liberian Government, heads of NGOs, politicians, foreign business people and prominent Liberians amongst others. Our news bureau has however brought forth some of the interviewees’ ideas about agriculture in Liberia.
It is believed when these recommendations are taken by the president and his government, Liberians and development partners, they will shift agriculture in Liberia to a sustainable or dependable level. The stakeholders outlined a lot of strategies which the detail of this article will unveil to you.
DR ROLAND C MASSAQUOI, FORMER MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LIBERIA
He explained that agriculture needs diversity, innovation, productivity, interest, compassion, dedication and investment to work out.
According to him, on a larger scale, to improve agriculture, it is advisable to look for machines and invest. He continued that everybody should support agriculture and not just rely on government alone. He said government can not do farming but the private sector does. When one has money, he noted, government creates the space, gives policy and regulation to do agriculture.
JOSEPH NDEBEH, RICE BREEDER AND HEAD OF RICE DIVISON AT CARI
Referring to himself as a farmer, the rice breeder and head of the rice division at the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) spoke that farmers must first collaborate with the research institutions which will assist them in understanding the characteristics of the kinds of crops they want to plant.
He continued that only research will make the farmers know if what they want to plant will yield poorly or good. According to him, marketers leave from Liberia to import pepper, butterball and other planting seeds from Guinea claiming them to be good seeds when they don’t know the germination percentage and viability level.
He added that people invest their money into clearing farmland and planting things that don’t give them the needed results.
He however advised farmers to take the types of seeds and soil at the laboratories for testing to enable CARI help them in obtaining higher yields. He maintained that their role at CARI is also to tell the farmers if the seeds they want to grow are mixed or pure seeds.
ABASS MARK BIATY, LOFA COUNTY AGRICULTURE COORDINATOR
Before giving his views on agriculture in Liberia, he expressed his delight about the fair describing it as exceptional in comparison to past ones he has seen and also highlighted that as it has always been, Lofa County took the lead at the fair considering it essence.
He added that Lofa showcased different kinds of rice, vegetables, animals as well as honey and if there was a need for an award, Lofa would have won.
He said to get the best out of the farmers is to capacitate them and the capacity starts with finance and for one to give finance, it starts with a process which further leads to an agriculture bank.
He said the issue of agriculture bank as disclosed by the president can not be under estimated especially so at this point at which the country is leavening from subsistent farming to mechanized farming.
In Mr. Biaty’s view, farmers need motivation in all ways, appreciating the president for turning up at the fair, something he said is a sign of encouragement for the farmers and leaders mainly those of them in the agriculture sector.
Abass Mark Biaty is the newest agriculture coordinator of Lofa County under the Boakai’s Administration which was highly embraced by Lofans especially during his induction to the post.
MR. TOKPAH J MULBAH, FORMER DEPUTY SPEAKER
He said the best way forward for Liberians is agriculture through which they can generate income and create employment opportunities.
In addition, he described Liberia as a third world country which is not industrialized in anything so getting back to the soil will bring money and Liberians will get their livelihood. In his statement, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast are making a lot of money from agriculture.
He stated that most of the crops (coaco and rubber) that are produced in Liberia can be found only maybe in West Africa and and Asia thereby encouraging Liberians whether an official of government or investor to venture into agriculture and further creates employment opportunities for the community from whence they come.
PRINCE T KOLLIE, AGRICULTURE SPECIALIST OF GRO GREEN
He is a member of a non-governmental organization, Gro Green for Agriculture and Environmental Supplies and Services seriously calling on Liberians to take agriculture seriously.
He said agriculture is not a merely practice thing but an applied science, hands on work, what you can see and produce what you can eat.
He stated that when people are really serious, they can make money from agriculture naming some people who are making money from agriculture in Liberia.
Gro Green which according to Prince has existed in Liberia for more than 10 years can supply anything related to agriculture including supplying of equipment, irrigation, imports, do technical advice. Others are machinery, tools, seeds fertilizers, pesticides, animal nutrition, veterinary supply and other services.
While displaying some irrigational machines, he boasted that Gro Green is the biggest Agriculture Company in Liberia that is also producing seeds such as okra, pepper, butterball etc that are affordable.
He said they have things that are suitable for the Liberian Soil which they have worked on for over five years.
BERNARD AGRAN OF TOPGUINEE SARL BASED IN IVORY COAST
As a foreign nationale, he indicated that Liberians should make use of the rightful fertilizers to help their plants grow well and produce more products.
He said once they use fertilizers such as Roko Nano Urea and the Roko Nano DAP, they will experience higher crop yield, increased producer’s income, reduction in chemical fertilizer usage, friendliness of the environment, better crop quality and easy to transport produces.
He said his company is involved with different kinds of agriculture activities and he was contacted by the Agriculture Minister of Liberia to attend the fair.
He spoke that the fertilizers (Roko Nano Urea and the Roko Nano DAP) produced by his company are other countries with very affordable prices.
STEVE MULBAH, A LOCAL FARMER IN MARGIBI
He told Throngtalk News Bureau that agriculture is defined as the bedrock of any developed or developing nation and Liberia being of no exception can be a better country in term of food security through the practicality of agriculture.
According to him, agriculture is not just about planting tree crops like plum or orange but cultivating food stuck such as eddoes, rice, cassava, yarm etc that are consumed daily, regularly, locally or traditional or stable food.
He argued that if Liberians are involved with production of the following, they will no longer cry about hunger but save money to build houses and send their children to school.
He noted that not many Liberians can walk to the bank now to save money when almost everyone is thinking about purchasing a 25 kg bag of rice regularly.
He boasted that it is very difficult to see him go to a Fulani store to buy rice because he produces cassava, plantains, yams, eddoes and potatoes, claiming that he has been into agriculture for about 15 years now though he does not have a formal education in agriculture.
He added that Liberians have long wanted a president that can focus on agriculture like former Presidents William R.Tolbert, Samuel K. Doe and Charles G. Taylor so if president Boakai turns the wheel of agriculture to the people and invest the country’s resources into it, he thinks the president’s six years will have a great achievement in term of food security.
Steve MULBAH is an advocate, a politician and as a prominent citizen of Margibi District #: 3.
Conclusion
All the above recommendations proffered are indeed good for agriculture in Liberia and making the country self-sufficient especially so with feeding it citizens as most of the products and services in this West African Nation are imported thereby undermining the country’s economy.
If the Liberian Government, development partners and Liberians are real about lifting agriculture in the country, they will not only take the strategies seriously but sincerely monitor the implementation of funds and other forms of support geared toward agriculture in the country.
The short of the long is that Liberia will have to be very serious and extremely sincere with handling agriculture.
Liberia has a fertile soil that grows and flourishes a lot of things but are many Liberians willing to go back to the soil and is the government really serious about agriculture?
Only Liberians can make Liberia better, Liberians don’t forget about this.
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