MONROVIA -Appearing before the Plenary of the Liberian Senate, the Acting Director General of the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), . Dan T. Saryee, delivered an urgent briefing on the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), calling it a critical turning point for the nation’s agricultural economy.
Mr. Saryee warned lawmakers that failure to align with the new legally binding EU mandates will result in a catastrophic loss of market access, hitting local farming communities the hardest.
The EU remains the primary destination for Liberian agri-food exports, particularly the cocoa sector, which historically accounts for more than 60% of Liberia’s agricultural export value to the European market.
Under the strict new EU rules, international buyers are legally prohibited from purchasing commodities that lack a verified, deforested-free digital history.
Without compliance infrastructure, Liberia risks an agricultural standstill. “We need to act now,” Mr. Saryee emphasized during his Senate testimony.
“If the EUDR is not taken into account, we risk a situation where more than 30% of our farmers’ products will grow and rot in the fields without access to markets.”
Following recent international adjustments designed to allow producing countries to establish necessary digital infrastructure, Hon. Saryee outlined the definitive deadlines facing the country:
Full compliance deadline for all large and medium-sized corporations exporting agricultural commodities from Liberia is December 2026 while June 2027 is the extended deadline for smallholder farmers, accounting for the logistical complexities of mapping rural, localized farm plots.
To safeguard national exports ahead of these deadlines, Hon. Saryee detailed LACRA’s ongoing transition from a traditional administrative regulator into a data-driven supply-chain enforcement agency. Key initiatives currently being deployed include:
National Agricultural Traceability Platform: The development of a unified digital framework designed to track commodities seamlessly from the specific farm of origin to the international port of exit.
He said LACRA intends to carryon active registration and geographic mapping of individual farms. This process will generates unique barcodes and e-logistics compliance data, guaranteeing that exports do not originate from newly deforested lands, particularly protecting vital primary forest zones in counties like Lofa and Grand Gedeh.
The LACRA DG noted further that expanding LACRA’s operational focus beyond traditional cash crops like cocoa and coffee to aggressively monitor and map the oil palm and rubber sectors, which are also strictly covered under the EUDR mandate will be prioritized.
The Acting Director General concluded his briefing by reminding the Senate that preventing an export crisis requires more than regulatory oversight. Success depends on strategic national funding, legislative backing, and robust inter-agency cooperation between LACRA, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), and international development partners including the European Union.
