The acting Director-General of the Liberia Agricultural Commodity and Regulator Authority (LACRA), has recommitted entity’s pledge to implement pillar one of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s agriculture agenda.
Dan Saryee said the transformation of Liberia starts with the soil, for that, he said, LACRA is prepared to drive that growth in the interests of farmers.
Saryee made the remark at the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Margibi County, during celebrations of this year’s International Coffee Day.
He reaffirmed LACRA’s commitment to unlock the doors to coffee production, because “the time is now to get it right.”
Saryee said it was also time to look beyond the crops and focus on farmers, adding: “For too long farmers have faced challenges of low productivity, poor market links and weak quality control.”
He also pledged the institution commitment to work, and ensure that coffee brand, “Coffee Liberica,” commands a premier price on the international market.
Deputy Agricultural Minister for Extension Moses Gbanyan, who served as the keynote speaker said, defined coffee as more than just a drink, but a lively inheritance and a vehicle for economic transformation.
Gbanyan said the international Coffee Day is a reminder that the country past was great, but the future will be greater.
He added: “Coffee is more than a cup. It’s a beacon for farmers to send their children to school…, empowerment for women, who are shifting communities through farmers.”