The ban on export of unprocessed natural rubber through an Executive Order by former President George Weah triggered mixed reactions among local farmers, something that has now led to the issuance of a counter Executive Order by his successor, President Joseph Boakai.
Last week, the Plenary of the Liberian Senate announced the setting up of a regulatory Board to regulate the rubber industry across the country, which the Senators say is the surest way to govern the sector.
According to a Senate release, Plenary took the decision Thursday following a debate on a report submitted by the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions, on a formal complaint filed by Senators Albert Chie and Johnny Kpehe of Grand Kru and Bong Counties respectively on March 6, 2024.
In their complaint to Plenary, the two Senators said that the Executive order No. 124 is allegedly bringing untold suffering to the Liberian rubber farmers and requested the Senate to discuss what they considered as a looming crisis in the Country’s rubber sector.
According to the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Wellington Geevon Smith of River Cess County, the Committees held two separate hearings with stakeholders in the rubber Sector, which included, the Consortium of Rubber sector actors, small stakeholders Farmers, Jetty Rubber, Firestone and the Liberia agriculture Company (LAC).
The release quotes the report as saying that the meeting with separate stakeholders including the Consortium of Rubber Sector Actors, viewed the Moratorium on smaller rubber famers as a disadvantage and thereby putting them at the mercy of the big rubber farmers who determine the monthly price of the commodity.
The Rubber Planters Association of Liberia which include, Firestone, Liberia Agriculture Company, and Jetty Rubber argued that to maintain sustainable development in the rubber sector, the Executive Order No. 124 should remain in force.
The Small Stakeholder Farmers argued that the moratorium imposed by Executive Order No. 124 creates security for the small farmers as farms are free from theft, said the Senate’s press release.
Meanwhile, the Joint Committee in its reports advanced four recommendations aimed at bringing stability in the rubber sector. The recommendations include and not limited to, the National Government establishing a National Rubber Board with membership drawn from all stakeholders in the rubber industry, charged with the responsibility to ensure and equitable determination of the monthly price of rubber.
At the same time, the Joint Committee also recommended that the Government of Liberia ensure that rubber factory owners are encouraged to operate at their full potentials and put Liberia on par with regional standard.
In its report, the Joint Committee finally recommended that the National Legislature enacts a law on the control of unprocessed rubber, as well as the Executive Order NO: 124 remain in force until the legal environment is created to ensure total stability in the rubber sector.