By Grace Q. Bryant
It is no secret that the poultry sector in Liberia is still at its infant stage of development as local produce are so small and cannot meet the demands of the growing population.
Giving the overview of the 2nd anniversary of the Poultry Farmers Association of Liberia in Monrovia, yesterday, the Administrator of the Poultry Farmers Association of Liberia (POFAL) Joseph Kodah said that POFAL was organized to help the government of Liberia in addressing the food security and nutrition vulnerability of the country.
“It is largely dependent on the importation of Poultry meat and eggs from Europe and Brazil. This time, 87 percent of the chicken meat and over 98.5 percent of egg consumed in Liberia is met from imports,” he maintained.
He assured that if developing the Poultry sector will be paramount in Liberia, the sector will be one of the key contributors of food and nutritional security and employment of youths and women.
“Liberia is importing about 47 thousand tons of poultry meat worth $35.9 million per year and up to 7.7 thousand tons of eggs products about $45 million a year. This is being done at the expense of losing hard currencies and denying an estimated 18,000 employment opportunities for women and youths,” he noted.
According to him, poultry meat and eggs are the best sources of quality protein and provide important vitamins and minerals.
“Poor people in many parts of the world, as in the case of Liberia depend on cereals as their staple food while most Liberians eat polished white rice stripped of its many essential fats, the B complex vitamins and several minerals,” he added.
He expressed that in order to win; contributing to food and nutritional security and employment of youths and women in developing countries like Liberia, he then called on government to develop the poultry sector.
For the part of United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) Madam Mariatou Njie said that this anniversary is not an ordinary event, but a golden opportunity to take stock and reflect on challenges and progress made and constructively engage for bigger results.
“This is particularly important for transforming and sustaining the development of a vibrant poultry sector in Liberia,” Madam Njie noted.
She maintained that though largely undeveloped, the poultry sub-sector has huge potential for wealth creation and employment opportunities in Liberia.
“But similar to the situation in other least developed countries, the Liberia poultry Sub-sector remains largely dependent on traditional production systems, which are based on indigenous breeds. This contributes to a number of binding constraints in 1the poultry sector,” she further explained.
She added, “To address some of these binding constraints, FAO has supported a number of interventions through technical support and project interventions. Another one underway is a TCP on livestock, under which a sub-component will focus on poultry.
“As we observe this second anniversary, the onus is on all of us to prioritize the development of the sector in addressing the binding constraints that keep us behind,” she concluded.
However, the acting Dean of the AMEZU Agriculture College, Patrick Karngbo explained that the AME is experiencing the greater needs of the people of Liberia, especially as it relates to ensuring their daily life sustenance through agricultural production activities.
Dean Karngbo stated further that the program of study and curriculum have been drawn up which will be diversified in scope and emphasis placed on specialization areas.
“The university keeps in view its focus on providing an all-inclusive program with emphasis on professionalism and career improvement to address developmental needs in Liberia,” he added.
