–Agriculture Minister Claims
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Alexander Nuetah, has revealed that the Joseph Boakai administration intends to reduce the importation of rice by 70% in the next six years; writes Ojuku Silver-tongue Kangar, Jr.
Rice is Liberia’s staple food, but the nation has heavily depended on importing the commodity. However, the Boakai administration has re-echoed its preference to producing the commodity over importing it. “This dependence on imported staple food highlights the urgent need to increase domestic agricultural production and reduce import dependency,” Agriculture Minister Nuetah said.
Founded by free American slaves, Liberia has about 9.6 million hectares of land, and only 2.7 million hectares of the land are currently under temporary or permanent cultivation. In addition to its vast land resource, the country can also boast of more than six rivers and an average annual rainfall of about 4,000 millimetres.
Agriculture plays a significant role in the nation’s economy, contributing about 29% of GDP in 2023 and providing livelihood source for over 68% of Liberians.
Recently, President Joseph N. Boakai launched an initiative, dubbed, “Liberians, Feed Yourselves Agenda”, a national agriculture development plan intended to direct investment in the agriculture sector between 2024 and 2030.
According to the Agriculture Minister, the planis builtaround technology and a value-chain approach driven by strong political will that reflects a commitment to assisting farmers in deploying innovative technologies in development of selected agriculture value chains”.
“This six-year agriculture development program, estimated at more than US$700 million, entails establishing mechanization centers across the country, strengthening agricultural research, providing access to finance through the establishment of an Agriculture Enterprise Development Bank, and strengthening the Ministry of Agriculture’s human and institutional capacities to fully utilize the potential of our agriculture sector,” the Agriculture Minister said.
Though Liberia is endowed with vast agriculture resources, it remains a net importer of most of its consumption commodities. For instance, Liberia imports about 300,000 metric tons of rice annually, amounting to a staggering cost of around US$200 million, which poses a significant threat to the nation’s food security and economic stability.
With growing calls, the Agriculture Ministry, through its minister, called on all Liberians and non-Liberians to embrace the national agriculture growth program for adequate food production.
“The ‘Liberians, Feed Yourselves Agenda’ is therefore a program every Liberian and our partners should embrace. All Liberians and our partners should see the agenda as a vision for the future. We should all get on board and ensure its success,” the agriculture minister stated. “This is our opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of our people. Let’s seize it together and create the enabling environment and opportunities for indigenous wealth creation.”
He said, to address food security the Liberian government is poised, in the next six years, to increase national rice self-sufficiency by 70%, reduce rice importation by 70%, decrease post-harvest losses by 15%, and within 2 years enhance rice farmers’ income by 30%, increase the yield of cassava to a minimum of 20mt/ha, increase the number of hectares of secondary forestland under mechanized maize production, and improve fruit crop production, with plantation and large orchards established through support to smallholder farmers.
The government also vowed to increase access to affordable maize for animal feed production by 75% in the first 2 years, increase national vegetable production and consumption by 25%, revive the coffee subsector and develop appropriate programs to sustain activities in the sector, increase the number of new smallholder coffee farms by establishing coffee seedling nurseries in key production counties, increase the number of fish products labeled and certified to meet export standards, rehabilitate and restock 7 major cattle production ranches across the country, restock goat and sheep in six counties, and increase the volume of marine fishery production.
“Fellow Liberians and our development partners, while the estimated investment outlined in this plan is substantial, Liberia’s agricultural economy demands even greater investment,” the Agriculture Minister said. “With large tracts of arable land across the country, is it not heart-breaking to hear that more than two million Liberians are today food insecure and suffering from undernourishment?”
The government, through the Agriculture Ministry, has pledged to work with all stakeholders—private-sector actors, development partners, the National Legislature, and line ministries and agencies—to mobilize the resources needed for the implementation of this agenda. “We will ensure no stone is left unturned in our pursuit of a better and prosperous Liberia,” the agriculture minister vowed.
The government promised to create the publicity required to effectively communicate and sell the initiative to the Liberian people, especially the key actors along all the value chain. “We will need the support and collaboration of the Liberian media in this direction,” he added.
Liberia is blessed with one of the largest coastal belts in West Africa, presenting a remarkable opportunity for the fishery sector. Yet, a trade imbalance persists, with fish importation reaching US$12,932,100 in 2020, while exports amounted to only US$3,583,490.
The National Fishery and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) has projected that aquaculture holds the potential to produce 15,000 metric tons of fish annually by 2030, provided key challenges are addressed effectively.