PHOTO: Min. Jeanine Cooper using shovel @ the Triumph Garden Project site
By E. Festus G. Frazer, Jr, efgfrazerjr@gmail.com
Liberia’s Agriculture Minister, Jeanine Millie Cooper has called on Liberians to focus on food and crop production, saying that food grown in Liberia are superior to food grown in other countries.
Minister Cooper made the statement at a program where the ministry announced its selection and support of a local agriculture group, Agro Tech to be sponsored under its Triumph Garden Project.
The program was held at the University of Liberia Fendell Campus last weekend (Saturday, March 20, 2021) and the Liberian Agriculture Ministry reechoed President George Weah’s slogan, “eat what you grow, and grow what you eat.”
According to the Minister, the triumph garden project is an urban food and nutrition security initiative, which is intended to empower urban gardeners and Farmers to scale up their productions. Minister Cooper disclosed that the essence of the Triumph Garden Project is to enable gardeners to get involve into Agricultural activities while they stay home during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“We are happy to see young and innovative Liberians take such great steps. I want to call on other young people to follow this good example. This project is actually called Triumph Garden because when pandemic like hit other countries, families have to stay home to do gardening, and this why give it that name,” Minister Cooper mentioned.
She maintained that the selection of Agro Tech was based on their involvement and engagement with various sector, including the Armed Forces, the women and the disabled.
According to her, the ministry of Agriculture is finding ways to empower the disabled as a means of supporting the Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, PAPD.
“As a means of supporting the Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, we at the level of the ministry have also decided to empower the disabled community as well,” Minister. Cooper asserted.
She revealed that there are plans for the ministry to provide smaller machines for mechanized farming in the near future.
At the same time, the Executive Director of Agro Tech Liberia, Jonathan Stewart thanked the Ministry of Agriculture for the preference. He said, why it is true that their selection came as surprise, they are going to work assiduously to make the difference.
He maintained that his institution will continue to work with partners to ensure that urban farmers become significant contributors in the country’s crop production.
“We are happy to receive this Star-P grant through the ministry of Agriculture. I selection tells us that the ministry is not focusing on this cooperatives but it is also prioritizing those farming on the small scale,” Mr. Stewart intoned.
Also speaking, the associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Liberia, Professor Leroy Cegbe thanked Agro Tech for selecting the University Campus as the site for its project.
He said the project will help students studying agriculture to acquire more practical skills.
He used the occasion to inform the gathering that the Department of Agriculture at the University is ever ready to partner with various Agriculture institution and the Ministry.