Liberia: Agriculture Minister Launches New Extension Policy, Strategic Plan For CARI

Agriculture Minister Jeanine M. Cooper has launched the new agricultural extension policy for Liberia and the strategic plan for the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) to improve the living standard of Liberian farmers.

The new National Agriculture Extension Advisory Services (NAEAS) policy aims to facilitate the development of the agricultural value chains to allow farmers and producers to market their products in response to the different market demands. It encourages a pluralistic and decentralized approach but it is basically private sector led. As for the strategic plan for CARI, it envisages to make the country's research institute as the key driver for increasing agricultural productivity, commercialization, and competitiveness of the agricultural sector. 

Minister Cooper launched both documents at the end of a two day workshop held at the Farmington Hotel in Margibi County, attended by stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. 

The documents when implemented by the government and the private sector will ensure an efficient and productive agriculture sector to make Liberia food secure. 

According to the plans, about US$27 million is required to transform agricultural extension and research in Liberia within the next seven years.

The launch of the documents comes following the completion of the “Linking Extension and Research to Farmers for Sustainable Agriculture Food Security and Nutrition Project.” The project was implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and CARI with support from the European Union.

The extension project which ran from March 2019-June 2023 was meant to strengthen Liberia’s agriculture research and extension systems through the preparation of policy and strategic plans for extension and research as well as supporting the institutional capacity for research and extension and agricultural business centers.   

Launching the documents, Minister Cooper expressed the confidence that the private sector can drive agricultural extension to transform farmers’ lives within the country.

“Agriculture cannot become successful without research and extension. The transformation of our agriculture sector is now driven by the private sector. It is possible that the private sector can lead this process. We need to challenge our assumptions about agricultural transformation. But I believe that the people doing the transformation are mainly from the private sector,” she said.

According to the Minister, considering the meaningful role that the private sector should play in transforming the sector, it is important that they are involved in the formulation of agricultural programs and policies.

Minister Cooper, once a private sector actor, encouraged stakeholders to involve members of the private sector in the development of all agricultural strategies and programs.

“We must involve the private sector in all programs and strategies that we formulate for agriculture. I don’t know how many of them were fully involved in this process. We have a private company importing chicks for the poultry industry to address the constraint. This is even happening without the support of the government,” she mentioned.

FAO’s acting country representative to Liberia, Bintia Stephen Tchicaya, said priority for research and extension is key if the Liberian economy is to improve.

“The extractive industry is not benefiting the economy much. The country has a favorable climate and fertile soil to develop the economy provided there is significant investment in agriculture,” she said.

She stressed the need for all stakeholders to take full ownership of the policy and the strategic plan to change the lives of the farmers.

“We talk about the budget for the plan but we can only achieve the quest for support if we are closely working with the lawmakers and officials of the Ministry. This is not the end of our work so I am counting on you because a lot will have to be done,” the new FAO country rep. said.  

Representing the European Union Delegation in Liberia at the program, was Dr. Geetrui Louwagie who thanked the stakeholders for their commitment toward the project. 

She described the success of the program as a milestone which according to her is something that can be celebrated.

“The EU will continue to look for ways on how to improve agricultural delivery to farmers in a sustainable manner. I agreed with the Minister that the private sector has a major role to play. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. I wish for us to continue this conversation in a positive direction,” she said.

For her part, the President of the Farmer Union Network of Liberia, Josephine Franscis, called for the active involvement of the private sector to source funding for the plans.

She said it is also the responsibility of the private sector to look for ways in supporting agricultural extension and research.

“This is happening in other countries where the private sector is lobbying for funding to support the government’s drive for agricultural transformation,” she explained to stakeholders.

Madam Franscis, a former lawmaker, also asked the members of the Liberian Legislature to ensure adequate budgetary allocation for agriculture.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture has signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Liberia (UL) to train MOA staff in agricultural extension. 

The President of the UL, Dr. Julius Sarwolo Nelson, said his institution and other higher learning institutions will partner with the MOA and its partners to provide short, medium and long term training for staff at various levels in building capacity in the area of agricultural extension and research.

Dr. Nelson told the participants during the signing ceremony that for a sustainable implementation of the agricultural extension and policy as well as the strategic plans it is required that people be well trained.

“Without trained staff these documents will end up on the shelf. The UL is fully committed to carrying out these responsibilities under the agreement with support from the Liberian government,” he stated.

Under the MOU, the UL will conduct a need assessment to identify specific skills and knowledge gaps, determine learning objectives, design training programs and evaluate training delivered as well as update the curriculum of the Department of agricultural economics and extension education among others.