MONROVIA – Africa continues to spend billions on the Importation of food and non-food items annually when communities like Cocoa, Coffee, and Oil Palm have gained International recognition, as numerous local products with the potential to become global brands often go unnoticed.
By Willie N. Tokpah/0777039231
However, Green Enterprise Liberia has embarked on an initiative to change said narrative, through a visionary agriculture endeavor aimed at transforming the country’s agriculture landscape.
The initiative is geared at changing the narrative in Africa by adding value to locally produced goods including Cocoa, Oil Palm, Cashew, and Okra.
This, according to Green Enterprise Liberia arrowhead, Veteran Agriculturist, Edward Kla Brewer, will combine food processing models, through Crowdfarming by generating Crowdfunding.
Brewer noted that the agriculture venture is important since the crux of Liberia’s challenge lies not in food production alone, but in fold processing and marketing.
He believed that by emphasizing value addition through said agriculture initiative, Green Enterprise Liberia seeks to limit waste and significantly reduce the dependence on imported foods.
“However the stumbling block has been the finance constraints faced by rural farmers who employ traditional farming methods,” Brewer let out.
However, he noted that by introducing an innovative approach of crowdfarming through the generation of crowdfunding, by recognizing the potential of these methods to bridge the financial gap, Green Enterprise Liberia envisions a method that will encourage Liberia in urban settings and the diaspora to provide funds for rural farmers’ investment.
This investment channel through Green Enterprise Liberia, according to him, aims to boost production, curtail the budget for the importation of products, and generate profits for both urban investors and rural farmers.
He said: “Crowdfarming through crowdfunding has proven successful in other African nations, citing two crowdfunding businesses in Nigeria, allowing working-class individuals to sponsor farming projects and to reap returns as harvest time.
Brewer further believed, that if this model is grounded in Liberia through Green Enterprise Liberia, it will create huge financial proceeds for the country’s agriculture sector within the next few years.
Brewer announced that his extensive experience in agriculture, coupled with his role as Founder and CEO of Green Enterprise Liberia, makes him suited as a driving force behind said transformative drive.
Meanwhile, Brewer maintained that the marriage of food processing, crowdfarming, by generating crowdfunding will be the catalyst that propels the nation into a new era of agricultural prosperity, as Liberia takes strides towards self-sufficeconomic economic empowerment.