The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has signed a grant of additional US$10 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to boost food and nutrition security in Liberia.
The grant is however part of additional financing to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) to enhance the Smallholder Agriculture Development for Food and Nutrition Security project across the country.
This significant funding boost aims to further expand the project’s scope and amplify its impact in the country and aligns with the government’s priorities to improve food security, advance agricultural transformation, and promote economic prosperity for all.
The total project cost is estimated at US$19.08 million, with contributions of US$18.2 million from GAFSP, US$429,027 from the African Development Fund, and US$453,000 from the government.
Speaking during the signing, Acting Finance Minister, Anthony Myers disclosed that Liberia is in the “DNA” of the AfDB and vice-versa for many historical reasons cited by the Bank’s Country Manager for Liberia.
Minister Myers also revealed that the National Agriculture Plan has been launched and it will be integrated into the President’s ARREST Agenda, and pointed out that the AfDB and other external partners will be making more impacts on the economy and society if interventions whether financial or other resources are linked to the development plan adopted by Liberia.
Commenting on the project’s significance, he noted that in the past, going back decades, the emphasis in agriculture, especially from partners, was geared towards export production and cash crops were the emphasis.
“So you see across the country, farmland has been converted to cropland and cash-crop lands. Shifting agriculture has been the problem in the country, in terms of producing food, so the spaces for farmers have been reduced, little farmlands have been left, due to cocoa, coffee, or rubber”, Myers explained.
The Ministry Acting Minister at the same time highlighted that the resources to be used to finance all imports that Liberia cannot produce to keep their prices low are being used to fund food imports, thereby raising all goods across the board.
He said as population increases, community and farmland size, there is competition for the ever-reducing farmland, to the extent that violence often erupts between families and in some cases between counties.
Minister Myers added, “So, shifting the emphasis from the intervention in cash crop, you are not neglecting it, but broadening the envelop intervention to emphasize food crop production to diversify the dinner table and make it right for other commodities.”
Earlier, the AFDB Country Manager for Liberia, Benedict S. Kanu commended the Liberian Government for what he termed as “excellent and growing partnership”, with the AfDB, since 1962, and thereby referred to Liberia’s role in the formation of the bank as being pivotal.
Mr. Kanu asserted that the provision of additional grant to the Smallholder Agriculture Development for Food and Nutrition Security (SADFONS) is aligned with the objectives of the Liberians Feed Yourself Agenda, also known as the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP) 2024-2030.
Meanwhile, the primary objective of the project is to bolster food and nutrition security while reducing poverty among targeted rural populations in Liberia and will be achieved by increasing agricultural production and productivity among smallholder farmers, with a particular focus on key food crops such as rice, cassava, and vegetables.
The project will also work to improve value addition, market access, and income for smallholders, while strengthening the capacities of government institutions, farmers, and producer organizations.
Liberia has recently faced challenges due to rising prices for imported agricultural inputs, increased energy costs, and disruptions in the fertilizer sector and these factors have driven up food prices, making it crucial for food import-dependent countries like Liberia to enhance local food production to safeguard food and nutrition security.
The initial funding for the project was secured in June 2021, aiming to raise the productivity of rice and cassava to 3.5 metric tons per hectare and 25 metric tons per hectare, respectively.
The new funding will extend support to approximately 18,260 additional households, complementing the existing 11,740 households, and will also benefit 15,000 students through the home-grown school feeding activities program.
This project will further focus on sustainable crop production and intensification by providing breeder seeds, foundation seeds, and certified seeds for farmers cultivating 7,000 hectares of land.
It will also enhance value addition and market access by establishing six post-harvest facilities for primary processing of cassava and rice, supported by four aggregation centers located near these processing facilities.
Other expected outcomes include strengthening participatory farmer advisory services, enhancing national food safety and security, and boosting the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture in investment planning and implementation.
