By Bill W. Cooper
Several farmers under the banner ‘Fuamah District Multipurpose Cooperative Society (FDMCS)’ have commended and adorned Agriculture Minister, Jeanine Cooper, for her exceptional contribution to transforming the Liberian Agricultural sector.
With unwavering commitment and innovative policies, the farmers said, Minister Cooper has revitalized the country’s agricultural landscape, fostering widespread growth, sustainability, and prosperity within the farming community, precisely Bong County.
According to the farmers, under the leadership of Minister Cooper, various initiatives and programs have been implemented, targeting key areas to improve agricultural productivity, enhance food security, and promote rural development across Liberia.
Speaking recently, the FDMCS chairman, Prince D. Peter, gowning Minister Cooper, emphasized that the comprehensive overhaul has not only positively impacted the livelihoods of the farmers, but also stimulated the nation’s overall economic growth.
The Fuamah District Multipurpose Cooperative Society (FDMCS), which represents farmers from diverse backgrounds, has reaped the rewards of the Ministry’s intervention, witnessing significant improvement in their operation.
The farmers’ commendation comes following a significant intervention by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and partners, through the donation of grants to several local farmers across the county.
Furthermore, the intervention by the MoA and partners is under the Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project (STAR-P) and Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP).
Additionally, the joint effort by the MoA and partners has since yielded positive results, revolutionizing the agricultural sector in the region and significantly impacting the lives of those involved.
STAR-P and RETRAP are supported by the World Bank and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), and through this collaboration, the farmers in Bong have witnessed remarkable improvements in their livelihoods, prompting smiles to grace their faces.
With funding from IFAD, the STAR Project is focused on providing agricultural financing, institutional capacity building, enabling environment for farmers, agribusinesses, state, and non-state actors, as well as enhancing productivity and competitiveness.
The RETRAP project, also funded by the World Bank, seeks to develop or enhance competitiveness and market access through productive alliances as well as strengthening Agri-marketing and engaging in road infrastructure investments.
Both STAR-P and RETRAP are being implemented across the 15 counties, with a combined target of 98,000 beneficiaries in the cassava, oil palm, rice, rubber, piggery, poultry and vegetable, and rice value chains.
One of the key focuses has been on providing farmers with access to quality seeds, modern farming techniques, and necessary resources, equipping them with the right tools and knowledge to optimize their productivity and increase their crop yields.
According to Chairman Peter, the intervention of the MoA and partners through the grants has significantly impacted their lives as farmers, disclosing that it has also enabled them to expand production from 100 hectares to 500 this farming season.
He further revealed that the projects provided them with cash for work, and inputs such as fertilizers and tools to expand production, noting, “The quick impact project provided us with cash for work that enabled us to cultivate 500 hectares.”
“Since the end of the civil crisis and in the history of the cooperative, this is the first time we have been able to expand production in such a manner, and since the establishment of the cooperative, we can only boast of vast swampland but production is always low because the field is not irrigated and inputs are limited,” he added.
Peter asserted that the MoA is in the process of approving US$200,000 that will further enhance their production capacity, enabling them to become one of Liberia’s biggest rice processors in the country.
In response to the honor, Minister Jeanine Cooper disclosed a plan by the MoA and partners to make the FDMCS key farm to increase domestic rice production, noting, “This support is not just the contribution of the projects of the MoA, but it is the involvement of all of our partners.”
She disclosed that it is the Rice Offensive Initiative that aims to invest more into rice production to reduce importation, indicating that her administration, together with the partners, is doing all it can to support the farmers to produce more rice for the market.
The country’s Agriculture Minister further revealed that farmers have been supported with seeds and equipment to produce more rice in Liberia, and asserted, “We are supporting the farmers with machines to increase production.”
“We want to put one million bags of rice on the market this farming season and beyond, for the common good of the citizenry, and this is a promise that will forever live on even if I am gone from this Ministry,” she noted.
Minister Cooper further revealed that about 125 smallholder farmers and agribusinesses have so far been approved for grants, under its Liberia Agriculture Commercialization Fund (LACF).
LACF has been set up under component two of both projects to ensure that smallholder farmers and other members of the value chains increase agricultural productivity and commercialization.
