Kakata, Margibi County — Catholic Relief Services (CRS) together with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on August 15, 2022, celebrated the successes and impact of the USAID-funded Agriculture Sustainability Activity. The activity which was implemented between July 2021 to August 2022 reached over 3651 farmers in four Counties through the farmer-to-farmer volunteer approach.
In her opening statement, the Country Manager for CRS, Abena Amedormey said “The technical skills shared by United States of America farmers with Liberia farmers will be long-lasting. Our project beneficiaries will continue to use these skills to grow a sector that they love, and where they earn a living from. With the kind support of the American people, through USAID, CRS has been able to give over 2,000 women hope for themselves, hope for their families, hope for their children, and a legacy for their community.”
The USAID-funded Agriculture Sustainability Activity has supported farmer cooperatives to increase agricultural productivity through efficient and effective farming methods. The activity has also enhanced farmer cooperatives in the targeted counties to adopt climate-smart farming practices and technologies that improve crop yields and market value.
Speaking on behalf of USAID, the Mission Director of USAID Liberia James S. Wright said, “The Agricultural Sustainability Activity was implemented to compliment the government of Liberia’s effort to promote food security and strengthen the resilience of local farmers. The project utilizes the expertise of national and international volunteers for farmers, and processors to increase rice and cassava production and grow their businesses to provide a livelihood for themselves and many others. The United State government partnership with Liberia is focused on achieving inclusive economic development across the country.”
The project reached value chain actors: 117 farmer cooperatives comprising 18 agro-dealers, 8 processors, 72 producers, and 20 aggregators across four counties (Montserrado, Nimba, Lofa, and Bong counties) operating in rice and cassava value chains in Liberia. During the project close-out and distribution event, CRS and USAID distributed several additional agricultural inputs materials such as pushcarts, extra-large rakes, spraying cans, tarpaulins, hoes, decameter, cutlasses and weighing scales to improve farming activities, build resilience to climate change, and increase production and productivity. The closeout distribution event was hosted in Kakata, Margibi County, and attended by over 40 farmers across the four counties, and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, World Food Program, Margibi County Authorities, Students, and other key local and international organizations and partners.