Liberia’s Agriculture Minister, Jeanine Cooper has clarified that Ministry of Agriculture below her watch do have a blueprint to provide extra rice within the nation opposite to reviews by the citizenry.
Minister amongst different issues additionally named the National Rice Development Strategy for Liberia and the Liberia Comprehensive Agriculture Sector Development Plan (LISIPII) as among the strategic plans the nation has in place to enhance rice manufacturing.
“We have a blueprint for rice, which includes the National Rice Development Strategy for Liberia and the Liberia Comprehensive Agriculture Sector Development Plan (LISIPII) as well as the West African Rice Policy for the development of rice within Liberia,” she made the revelation yesterday, January 17, 2023 in an ELBC interview.
However, Agriculture in Liberia has largely trusted donor assist because the finish of the 14-year civil warfare. During the 12 years of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the nation benefited from near 16 main meals safety and diet tasks to scale back starvation and create jobs, in line with the 2017 Zero Hunger Strategic Review report.
And regardless of the extent of funding in nation Agriculture sector over time, extra challenges nonetheless confronted agriculture and meals safety in Liberia.
The National Rice Development Strategy for Liberia was drafted two years in the past whereas the Liberia Comprehensive Agriculture Sector Development Plan has been in place for the final 10 years.
LISIP, a domestication of the Malabo Declaration for Food and Nutrition Security, Africa’s Food Security Framework, calls for 10 p.c of each African nation’s whole nationwide finances to be appropriated for agriculture.
But Minister Cooper throughout this system highlighted varied financial points in Liberia that there’s a rise in donors’ ‘confidence within the nation, thereby leading to extra non-public funding in agriculture.
“When we took over the ministry, it had been without a leader for several months, and many things were dormant. We managed to build more confidence in the sector and mobilize resources. But the government can’t do it alone; it also requires the involvement of the private sector. Our milestone has been to work with the private sector,” she defined.
She defined additional that the nation will solely cut back its dependence on imported rice supplied there may be funding in massive scale rice manufacturing, noting that smallholder rice farmers are unable to make Liberia self-sufficient in rice.
“We currently have a few projects to support the sector in the various value chains. We met on a project when we took over, and we have developed new ones, which I am very proud about,” the Minister asserted.
“Before this administration, most projects concentrated on rice and cassava. But my administration has included value chains such as livestock, rubber oil palm, to diversify support that could improve the economy.”
Cooper stated that her ministry is utilizing the Liberia Agriculture Commercialization Fund (LACF), a part of the tasks on the ministry, to supply grants to beneficiaries.
The LACF, managed by Deloitte, a Ghanaian monetary agency, has made the primary batch of disbursements of funds value US$2 million to 23 grantees within the rice, vegetable, and oil palm worth chains after rigorous vetting and approval processes that lasted for a few 12 months.
“This grant initiative is creating access to finance for agricultural businesses. It is a great opportunity because many people in the agriculture sector are unable to get money from commercial banks. Commercial banks are unwilling to give our loans to improve the sector,” she talked about.
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