By Tokpa Tarnue, tarnue82@gmail.com
Foya, Liberia– Farmers in Liberia can do better only if they are fully supported by government and partners with the agriculture sector, the Chief Executive Officer of the Agriculture and Investment Company the AIIC has said
Mr. Mohamed V. Kamara was speaking recently during the harvest of the first ever Mechanized Farm by the government of Liberia in Foya, Lofa County in northwestern Liberia.
According to Kamara, the project which is a public private initiative He also underscored the need for the provisions of access to finance for farmers to enable them migrate from what he called Substance farming to mechanize farming.
The 200 acres of upland mechanize farming project undertaken by AIIC, is said to be the first ever in Liberia.
Giving an overview of the project, AIIC Chief Executive Officer indicated that the project seeks to buttress government’s efforts in increasing food security through rice value chain.
Mr. Kamara lauded President George Weah for making agriculture the second component for his government’s Pro Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity.
Harvesting of the Foya rice farm project
He said move is a clear indication that President Weah wants to move Liberia forward through agriculture. “Our president has shown that he wants to transform the agriculture sector and we as farmers are impressed with his decision to make agriculture the second component of the Pro Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity.”
The Agriculture investment executive also lauded President Weah for appointing Minister Flomo as Agriculture minister.
According to him, for the past eight months Dr. Flomo has left the comfort of his office and toured the 15 counties in Liberia to understand the plight and challenges of farmers to find a remedy.
The cultivation of the 200 acres of upland came as the result of motivation given them by Minister Flomo during his tour in Foya, Mr. Kamara said.
His initiative has given employment opportunities to over 100 Liberians in and out Lofa County and therefore recommended to the government of Liberia to strengthen the Extension Services of Liberian farmers.
He said had it not been for the interventions from partners to include IFAD, USAID/LADA, USADF, the Government of Japan the government of Liberia through the MOA, his organization would not have yielded the kind of production being harvested today.
Mr. Kamara praised the farmers for demonstrating passion by uniting in strength to produce what is being harvested today in spite of the many challenges along the way.
“We as farmers across the country highly appreciate President George M. Weah for prioritizing agriculture under his government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity, which we believe is in the right direction for Liberia to be food secured,” CEO Kamara noted.
Launching the harvest on behalf of the Liberian government, agriculture minister Dr. Mogana S. Flomo Jr. praised the Agriculture and Investment Company (AIIC) for the initiative describing it as a big boost to the agriculture sector of the country.
Minister Flomo disclosed that the government will ensure that local farmers across the country are fully supported.
“Support for our local farmers is very cardinal to the transformation of our society” the young minister added”.
He said agriculture remains an integral component in improving the economy and as such Liberians must invest in the soil.
Minister Flomo believes Liberians have the strength and ability to make Liberia food secured.
“What we need to do is to organize the relevant resources in a committed and transparent manner to benefit the farmers,” he said and that his quest to make Liberia food secured stems from the vision of President George Weah embedded in the government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity that was launched in Nimba County.
He disclosed that the government of Liberia under President George Weah has committed itself to providing an initial amount of $ 1.9m USD (One point nine million United States dollars) towards the Public Sector Investment Project (PSIP) for rice value chain that will target public private partners, cooperatives and local farmers.
According to him the move is meant to enhance the capacity of agriculture partners to produce more food and job opportunities for Liberians.
The launch of the 200 acres of upland farm came as the result of a nationwide tour by Minister Flomo to Foya in May 2018. During the tour, Minister Flomo encouraged farmers to demonstrate their commitment for farming by producing more food, in order to make the government’s dream of making Liberia self-sufficient a reality.
He also used the occasion to laud partners including Africa Rice, CNFA/LADA, USADF, World Bank, FAO and African Development Bank and others for helping to foster the government’s agenda for the agriculture sector.