By O’Neill A.R.Philips
A joint team from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the government, have concluded a mission to gather success stories and challenges endured by farmers.
The exercise is an effort to scale up cocoa and coffee production in the country with revision of the Tree Crops Extension Project (TCEP) ll, and the Building Climate Resilience Project (BCRP).
The team under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), closely monitored by international and national consultants to IFAD, captured farmers’ prospects on the ongoing TCEP ll and BRCP.
This included challenges in a bid to scale up tree crops production nationwide.
Farmers in Nimba, and the Southeastern counties, expressed joy as they received the joint team. They presented their plights to the teams.
In Nimba, the team visited the National Cocoa Seed Garden in Beeplay where cocoa is breed, nurtured and distributed to farmers.
The National Cocoa Seed Garden is a success story of IFAD’s contribution to an improved agriculture sector, with an area size of about 75,8102 acres. Cocoa covers about 20.4603 hectares.
Every year, more than 10,000 cocoa seeds are distributed to farmers in Bong, Lofa and Nimba counties, according to agriculture technicians at the National Cocoa Seed Garden.
Also, in Nimba, the teams paid a visit to the Liberia International Christian College (LICC) in Ganta, and had interactive discussion around cocoa production.
The teams also had discussion with rice, cocoa and coffee farmers.
In Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties, farmers expressed willingness to work with the MoA/IFAD project to scale up cocoa and coffee production.
They narrated success stories of their agriculture activities through the MoA and partners’ support.
They meanwhile, appealed for technical training, grant or loan, farming equipment as well as finding solution to deplorable farm to market roads.
In direct response, the MoA Assistant Minister for Technical Services, Zogbo Luther Goodridge, promised government’s preparedness to support the farmers.
Goodridge said under the IFAD ll project, MoA will give direction is to how money should be used, provide technical support and extension services, and build the capacity of farmers through training.
The joint MoA/IFAD teams visited Gbarpolu, Lofa, Margibi, Bong, Nimba, Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties, while Margibi, Gbarpolu, Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties, are proposed counties for the IFAD TCEP ll scale up project.