Days After Pres. Weah Issued Executive Order Suspending Tariffs On Agriculture Products
PHOTO: (L-R) Min Samuel Tweah and World Bank Country Manager, Khwima Nthara
The Liberian government and World Bank have signed Two financing agreements totaling US$50M.
The agreements, which were signed in Monrovia on Thursday, January 26, 2023, are in the amount of US$ 30 million additional for the Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP), and US$ 20M to the Recovery of Economic activity for Liberians Informal Employment Project (REALISE).
The agreements seek to boost government efforts to increase domestic food production, reduce dependence on imports such as supporting the production of rice, which is Liberia’s main staple food and other food crops such as legumes and vegetables.
Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah Jr. who spoke on behalf of the Government, thanked the World Bank for the level of support across several sectors of the economy focusing in the area of Agriculture, Climate Change, Health, roads connectivity, infrastructure development and education.
He lauded the bank for what he termed as “biggest partners” saying the bank has brought development in real time by responding to development needs through flexibility and good leadership under the regional Manager and country director.
‘’The bank is the biggest partners who has brought development in real time by responding to development needs through flexibility and good leadership from the regional Manager and country director,’’ said Minister Tweah.
According to Minister Tweah, there are lots of things happening in the agriculture sectors but citizens need to see tangible result by redefining various programs, push logic, program logic for bank founding and have an impactful project.
He noted that the additional financing is meant to start up with other available resources to scale up rice production and redefine the dynamics. However, this will also improve and transform, not just the agriculture sectors, the rice production in agriculture driven by Liberians farmers who say they have the expertise in growing rice.
‘’In order to grow rice, we need to address the land issues, startup capital and ask the high question why banks are hesitant to credit cash to agriculture farmers and the huge interest rate on borrowing loan’’ he added.
He explains how the world bank, European Union, USAID, IFC and the government need to come together especially under the auspices of the president to develop a deep risk facility for the agriculture sectors in growing rice.
Hon. Tweah said the Bank has spent valuable time in working with the government by challenging the government to make things better for the Liberian people.
For his part, Country Manager of World Bank Khwima Nthara explained that US$ 20 million additional financing to the REALISE project will be used to provide cash transfer to the poorest and most vulnerable households in Liberia in order to caution them from the impact of the recent increase in the cost of food due to global shocks.
According to him the second additional financing is meant to help poor people have access to food by giving them cash transfers. He noted that as development partners, this is good, and the bank is happy to support the initiatives.
However, this project will help boost government efforts to increase domestic food production, reduce dependence on imports such as supporting the production of rice, which is Liberia main staple food and other food crops such as legumes and vegetables.
Mr. Nthara indicated that the fund will be used to incentivize commercial producers of rice for increased production, facilitates farmers’ access to agri-inputs to cultivate twenty four thousand hectares of rice and twelve thousand hectares of others crops including the purchase and distribution of climate resilient seed, fertilizers and pesticides by ensuring access to small-scales mechanization, post-harvest equipment and means of transport and the provision of requisite advisory services along the production chain.
The Minister of Youths and Sport, Zoegar Wilson lauded the bank for the support and said the project will increase the geographic scope to additional counties, cover number of beneficiaries of components one and two will increase.
Additional two new components are community livelihood and the agriculture support cash transfer program.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by the World Bank Country team, Minister of youths and Sport, deputies and assistant minister along with Liberia Minister of Finance and development planning.
President Weah Suspends Tariffs On Agriculture Products
Days ago, President George Manneh Weah suspended import tariffs on agriculture products and materials with immediate effects.
According to an Executive Mansion Press release, President Weah’s action is contained in Executive Order #115 issued Monday, January 23, 2023, which aims to solidify the gains realized under Executive Order No. 106 and to continue to accelerate the development of the forestry and agricultural sectors in Liberia.
The action furthers the government’s determination to seek and promote a stable macroeconomic environment that enables private-sector-led economic growth, greater competitiveness, and diversification of the economy.
The Order is consistent with the PAPD, the Liberian Government and international partners’ determination towards making tremendous strides to boost the Agriculture Sector by working with key market players to make agriculture affordable for farmers through; inter alia, farm development and management, aggregation, Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), Training and enabling Legislation that would boost Agriculture output.
The President also indicated that the decision stemmed from the findings of local and international partners in the Agricultural Sector and the government’s internal review process which discovered that the Tariffs associated with Agriculture Inputs are high; and affecting the Agricultural Sector adversary and poor Rural Farmers who rely predominantly on Agriculture for their livelihood.
Dr. Weah indicated in the Order that it is also against the realization that the causal effect that such high tariffs have on the Agricultural Sector and livelihood of rural farmers, contravenes its Agenda to promote a stable macroeconomic environment, enable private-sectored economic growth, competitiveness and diversification in the Liberian economy.
The President envisioned that by lowering the tariffs associated with the importation of Agricultural Inputs, the imports of agro-distributors would increase, and the price of Agriculture InputFarmers would be lowered.
It is further projected that by reducing the tariffs on agriculture inputs, farmers would be able to access high-quality agriculture inputs at affordable prices, agricultural productivity would improve, agricultural activities would become commercially viable; product consistency would increase, and local farmers would have sustained high incomes.
President Weah reckoned that the effect of reduced Tariffs on the Agricultural Sector brings the Government closer to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (#2) of ending hunger, improved nutrition, achieving food security, and promoting sustainable Agriculture.
Agriculture Products exempted under Executive Order #115 as was in Executive Order #106 are Live cattle (bovines) for breeding, Live pigs (swine) for breeding, Live sheep and goats (small ruminants) for breeding and Live fish for breeding.
They also include all types of agriculture seeds and planting materials (cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fodder, and vegetables and other crops) including rice for sowing under chapter 10 and of the Harmonize Coding System (Custom Tariff).
Others are all types of agriculture seeds for sowing under chapter 12 of the Harmonized Coding System (Customs Tariff) Ingredients (raw and processed) used in animal, fish and poultry feed preparation commercially prepared or complete feeds for farm animals, fish and poultry- feeds, also included.
President Weah said there is a strong need to act with urgency, being fully aware that an Amendment to the Customs Tariff of Liberia of 2017 to affect Tariffs currently imposed on Agricultural inputs, would require a lengthy Legislative process that would not be best in the current public interests.
He also realized that the temporary suspension of tariffs on agriculture inputs would solve the aforementioned issues in the short term until such time that the government deems it necessary to enable proper legislation.
President Weah has accordingly mandated the Minister of Finance and Development Planning to, in consultation with the Minister of Agriculture and Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority, establish the processes and procedures by Administrative Regulation for the granting of Tax Exemption to eligible Beneficiaries in the Agriculture Sector.
According to the President, importers of Agriculture Inputs shall pay only Customs Users Fees (CUF) and the ECOWAS Trade Levy (ETL) where applicable, and he added that Beneficiaries of the Executive Order must be directly involved in the Agriculture Sector, as verified by the Ministry of Agriculture.