The organization cites grassroots rice-farming initiatives in Grand Cape Mount County and raises concerns over an agricultural proposal it says has gone unanswered for about a year.

By Patience Jones

Monrovia — The OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership–Liberia is urging the government and its agricultural partners to ensure that investments aimed at reducing food insecurity reach community farmers already working to increase local food production.

The organization’s appeal follows reports that the Liberian Government is seeking US$243 million in investment to boost domestic rice production and reduce the country’s dependence on imported rice.

While welcoming efforts to mobilize resources for agriculture, OMNIA Liberia said securing investment commitments alone would not guarantee food security unless existing community-led initiatives receive the technical, financial and material support needed to expand production.

In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, William U.B. Lloyd Jr., the organization said local farmers were already organizing, cultivating and developing practical responses to food insecurity despite limited resources.

It argued that government agricultural policies and large-scale investment plans should complement these grassroots efforts rather than overlook the communities already contributing to domestic food production.

Community Farmers Take the Lead

Through its Interfaith Peacemaker (IP) Teams, OMNIA Liberia works with communities to address shared challenges through collective action and locally driven initiatives.

In Gohn and Bambala in Grand Cape Mount County, the organization said its teams have been mobilizing farmers and supporting a transition from upland farming to lowland rice cultivation.

Similar initiatives are underway in Blamacee, where community-led agricultural activities are intended to increase food production and farmers’ incomes while reducing pressure on forests associated with slash-and-burn farming practices.

In Gohn, approximately 54 farmers directly involved with the IP Team are working across six hectares of land under a lowland rice cultivation initiative.

According to OMNIA Liberia, the project has involved soil testing, agricultural training, engagement with the Ministry of Agriculture and the development of local infrastructure to support farming activities.

The organization described the initiative as an example of what communities can achieve through collective action, even when access to resources is limited.

However, it warned that such initiatives could struggle to reach their full potential without stronger institutional support and partnerships that respond to farmers’ practical needs.

Organization Raises Concern Over Unanswered Proposal

OMNIA Liberia said it had previously submitted proposals seeking assistance for community farming initiatives and facilitated visits by Ministry of Agriculture representatives to project sites.

However, the organization reported that a proposal submitted approximately one year ago had yet to receive a substantive response.

The statement did not provide details about the proposal’s specific budget or the amount of assistance requested.

OMNIA Liberia said its concern was not with the government’s efforts to mobilize agricultural investment, but with whether farmers already working to address food insecurity would have a fair opportunity to benefit from the resources secured.

It said community farmers and voluntary IP Team members were contributing their time, local knowledge, energy and organizational capacity to agricultural initiatives aligned with the country’s food security objectives.

The organization called for a more responsive relationship between government institutions and community-based agricultural groups, including clearer communication on how proposals are assessed and what applicants must do to qualify for assistance.

Calls for Technical Assistance, Equipment and Financing

OMNIA Liberia said grassroots farmers require more than encouragement to sustain and expand their work.

It identified technical assistance, improved farming inputs, equipment, financing and agricultural extension services as key areas where government and development partners could provide support.

The organization also called for recognition and encouragement of community volunteers and local leaders whose participation helps sustain agricultural initiatives.

It urged the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant development partners to establish a clear process through which community organizations can submit proposals, receive feedback and understand the requirements for accessing support.

Such a mechanism, the organization argued, could improve coordination between national agricultural priorities and local initiatives while helping community farmers identify opportunities to expand production.

OMNIA Liberia maintained that stronger institutional engagement would allow government and development partners to build on existing community efforts rather than treating grassroots initiatives as separate from national agricultural development plans.

Food Security Requires Partnerships

The organization said reducing food insecurity requires coordinated efforts involving government leadership, international investors, private-sector participation and community initiatives.

While acknowledging the importance of large-scale agricultural investment, OMNIA Liberia stressed that farmers in rural communities must also be included in plans to increase domestic food production.

It argued that existing farming initiatives offer opportunities to strengthen local production and demonstrate the potential of community-led agriculture when appropriate partnerships and resources are available.

The organization also maintained that Liberia does not need to wait for every proposed investment to materialize before supporting communities already prepared to cultivate land and increase food production.

For OMNIA Liberia, the effectiveness of the government’s agricultural investment drive should be assessed not only by the amount of funding mobilized but also by how effectively the resources reach farmers and strengthen their capacity to produce food.

“The question should not only be how much money Liberia can mobilize to reduce rice imports, but also how effectively that investment will reach the people cultivating the land and building solutions from the ground up,” Lloyd said.

He called for a stronger partnership between the government and organized community farmers to ensure that national food security efforts translate into practical benefits for rural communities.

The organization said supporting farmers who are already producing food could complement larger agricultural investments and contribute to Liberia’s broader efforts to reduce dependence on imported rice.

William U.B. Lloyd Jr. is the National Coordinator of the OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership–Liberia.

Monrovia Calls for Concessional Loans, Credit Guarantees and Private-Sector Partnerships to Boost Food Production, Strengthen Agribusiness and Advance Inclusive Growth

NEW YORK — Liberia has called for increased investment in agriculture and affordable financing to accelerate poverty eradication, strengthen food security and transform the country’s largely subsistence-based agricultural sector into a commercially viable industry.

Leon Mannie Talery, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation and Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered Liberia’s position during a joint general discussion of the United Nations General Assembly’s Second Committee at its 81st session.

The discussion focused on Eradication of Poverty and Other Development Issues and Agricultural Development, Food Security and Nutrition.

In his statement, Talery called for expanded concessional financing, blended-finance instruments, credit guarantees and responsible private-sector investment to reduce risks associated with agricultural production and attract capital across the agricultural value chain.

He emphasized that agriculture remains central to Liberia’s economic transformation, particularly as the country seeks to move beyond subsistence farming toward commercially viable agribusinesses capable of generating employment, increasing household incomes and improving national food security.

Liberia’s priorities include increasing domestic food production, improving storage, processing and packaging facilities, strengthening links between farmers and markets, and expanding value addition to locally produced agricultural commodities.

The government believes that increased investment in these areas could improve agricultural productivity, reduce post-harvest losses and create greater economic opportunities for farmers and other participants in the agricultural value chain.

ARREST Agenda at the Center of Development Strategy

Talery also highlighted Liberia’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), the government’s nationally owned development framework intended to promote inclusive economic growth, reduce poverty and translate economic progress into measurable improvements in citizens’ lives.

He said Liberia’s development priorities are directed at building a more productive economy, expanding opportunities and ensuring that economic growth contributes to improved living conditions for all Liberians.

The agenda is also intended to support Liberia’s efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those relating to poverty reduction, food security, employment and access to essential services.

Talery stressed that achieving these objectives would require sustained investment, effective implementation of national development policies and stronger partnerships between the government, the private sector and international development partners.

He underscored the importance of national ownership and sound governance in ensuring that development financing translates into tangible benefits for communities.

Five-Year Development Plan Emphasizes Key Sectors

During the discussion, Talery outlined Liberia’s five-year development plan, highlighting agriculture, roads, the rule of law, education, sanitation and tourism as priority areas.

He emphasized that progress across these sectors would be essential to expanding economic opportunities, strengthening public institutions and improving the delivery of essential services.

Agriculture, in particular, remains a key component of the government’s strategy to reduce poverty by expanding productive activities beyond subsistence farming and creating stronger connections between rural producers and domestic markets.

The government’s approach also places emphasis on mobilizing resources to support agricultural production and related businesses, including enterprises involved in processing, packaging, transportation and marketing.

Talery called for greater cooperation with international partners to secure financing and technical support while encouraging responsible private investment capable of strengthening domestic production and supporting long-term economic growth.

Affordable Financing Needed to Unlock Agricultural Potential

Liberia’s appeal for affordable financing reflects the need to mobilize capital for agricultural development while reducing the risks that can discourage investment in the sector.

Concessional financing, which generally offers more favorable terms than commercial borrowing, could help fund agricultural infrastructure and other development priorities. Blended finance, meanwhile, combines public or development resources with private capital to encourage investment in projects that might otherwise be considered too risky.

Credit guarantees could also help improve access to financing for agricultural businesses and other enterprises across the value chain.

Talery stressed that these instruments, alongside responsible private-sector investment, could help attract the resources needed to expand agricultural production and improve the sector’s commercial viability.

However, the effectiveness of such financing would depend on sound implementation, accountable management and the ability to connect investment with practical improvements in production, processing and market access.

Poverty Eradication Requires Long-Term Transformation

In concluding his remarks, Talery described poverty eradication as a central challenge of sustainable development, arguing that it requires structural economic transformation rather than reliance on short-term relief measures.

He said development strategies must prioritize the creation of decent jobs, higher household incomes, stronger food security and expanded access to education, healthcare and other essential services.

For Liberia, these objectives are closely linked to the country’s ability to increase domestic production, strengthen its agricultural sector and create sustainable economic opportunities.

Talery’s statement at the United Nations underscored the government’s position that affordable development financing, stronger partnerships and effective national policies are necessary to accelerate poverty reduction and achieve inclusive growth.

Liberia’s call places agricultural investment at the center of its broader development ambitions, with the stated goal of building a more productive economy in which growth generates measurable improvements in the lives of its citizens.

QUEENIE-1 TOWN, Bomi County — Residents of Queenie-1 Town in Suehn Mecca District, Bomi County, are expanding rice production and investing in processing equipment under the Government of Liberia’s Rural Economic Transformation Project (REALISE), as they seek to increase household incomes, reduce post-harvest challenges, and strengthen their livelihoods.

By Patience M. Jones,patiencejones@frontpageafricaonline.com

The community has cultivated 39 acres of rice, exceeding its initial target of 35 acres, and established an operational rice mill intended to ease the burden of traditional processing, particularly for women, while creating opportunities to generate additional income.

The progress was highlighted during a joint field visit by representatives of the REALISE Project and the Liberia Women’s Employment Project, both financed by the World Bank.

For residents, the intervention combines agricultural support, practical training, financial assistance, and a community-selected development project aimed at improving local economic opportunities.

According to project officials, 33 people are directly involved in the intervention, including 28 beneficiaries organized into a Livelihood Agriculture Support group and five members of a Community Oversight Committee. The farming group comprises 14 men and 14 women.

Anita Marshall, Deputy Project Coordinator for Economic Inclusion at REALISE, commended the beneficiaries for exceeding their cultivation target, describing their achievement as evidence of community commitment and ownership.

Marshall explained that the project provides agricultural inputs, financial support, mobile technology, life-skills training, and climate-smart agriculture to help rural residents improve productivity and develop sustainable sources of income.

The farming group received US$1,680 in agricultural input support, while the community received US$1,800 to finance a development project of its choice.

Community Chooses Rice Mill

Rather than investing the community development grant in a bridge or pond, residents decided to purchase a rice-processing machine after consultations on their most pressing needs.

Varmah Dorley, a representative of the Community Oversight Committee, said the community prioritized the rice mill because residents, particularly women, had long struggled with the time and physical effort required to pound rice manually.

Following the consultations, residents purchased the machine and constructed a shelter to house it. The facility is now operational and is expected to serve Queenie-1 Town and surrounding villages.

The mill is intended to improve processing efficiency, reduce the burden of manual labor, and create opportunities for the community to earn income by providing milling services.

Dorley said residents were also considering reinvesting proceeds from their activities in larger agricultural machinery to expand production.

However, the amount of revenue generated by the mill and the timeline for acquiring additional equipment remain to be established.

The community’s ability to maintain the machine, manage its operating costs, and account for any revenue will be important to ensuring that the investment continues to benefit residents beyond the project’s direct support.

Women Build Businesses Through Project Support

Beyond collective rice farming, some beneficiaries are using the assistance to establish small businesses and meet household expenses.

Harrietta Sirleaf, a beneficiary, said the support enabled her to invest in goods for resale, including fish and other market products.

She travels between towns and communities to sell her goods, using the proceeds to support her children and meet other family needs.

Sirleaf also credited the project’s financial management training with improving her understanding of saving, spending, and reinvesting earnings.

She said the training had encouraged her to make more deliberate financial decisions and plan for future expenses rather than immediately spending all her earnings.

She expressed appreciation to the Government of Liberia and the World Bank for the assistance, adding that the opportunity had helped her contribute to her children’s education and household welfare.

Sirleaf called for continued support to enable beneficiaries to strengthen their businesses and improve their economic independence.

Farmers Adopt Improved Agricultural Practices

Beneficiaries also said training provided under the REALISE intervention had improved their understanding of farming and crop management.

Amar Sirgon, another beneficiary, explained that farming had previously been difficult because community members lacked adequate knowledge of land preparation, planting schedules, and effective crop management.

Through the project, beneficiaries received life-skills and climate-smart agriculture training intended to improve production and promote sustainable farming practices.

The training covered appropriate planting periods, farmland preparation, and weed management.

Beneficiaries said they were applying the knowledge to the collective rice farm and their individual gardens, where they cultivate cucumber, pumpkin, pepper, and other crops for household consumption and sale.

The additional production is helping some households meet food needs, generate income, and contribute to school expenses.

The project also aims to connect beneficiary farmers with farmer-based organizations and market actors to improve access to buyers. Such connections are important because increased production does not automatically translate into higher incomes without reliable markets.

Us$42 Million Project Targets 14 Counties

The intervention in Queenie-1 Town forms part of REALISE, which has a total financing portfolio of US$42 million, comprising US$30 million from the World Bank, US$9.5 million from the French Government, and US$2.5 million from the Swedish Government.

The project operates in 14 of Liberia’s 15 counties, excluding Maryland, through components targeting agriculture, social protection, small businesses, and employment.

Its agriculture component operates in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Gbarpolu, and Sinoe counties.

The Social Cash Transfer component covers River Gee, River Cess, Grand Bassa, and Grand Kru counties, while the Small Business Support and Labor-Intensive Public Works components operate in Montserrado and Margibi counties.

In Queenie-1 Town, the project also provides mobile phones and mobile-money SIM cards to beneficiaries and committee members to facilitate payments and support participation in the initiative.

Each of the 28 farming beneficiaries is entitled to a US$350 labor subsidy. Project representatives indicated that outstanding payments were expected to be completed before December 2026, with funds transferred through registered mobile-money accounts.

Sustainability Remains A Key Test

Despite the reported progress, sustaining the community’s gains will depend on continued cooperation, financial accountability, and reliable market access.

Beneficiaries have discussed dividing proceeds from their collective activities among savings, individual business investments, and community initiatives. Residents are also considering expanding agricultural production, including cultivating cassava during the next farming cycle.

These plans reflect an effort to move beyond short-term assistance toward activities that can support future investments and household incomes.

However, the long-term impact will depend on whether farmers can maintain their equipment, secure agricultural inputs, sell their produce at viable prices, and continue operating their businesses after external assistance ends.

For Queenie-1 Town, the immediate priorities are to complete the rice harvest, strengthen market connections, and develop a sustainable system for managing the community rice mill.

The intervention demonstrates how agricultural inputs, practical training, financial assistance, and community-led investments can support rural livelihoods.

Whether these early gains translate into lasting economic improvements will ultimately depend on the community’s ability to turn increased production and shared assets into consistent income and sustainable opportunities.

Rome, Italy– Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah has unveiled a US$370 million agricultural investment portfolio at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum in Rome, rallying international investors, development finance institutions and agribusiness leaders to support Liberia’s drive to boost domestic food production, reduce import dependence and create thousands of jobs.

By Augustus D.R Bortue@frontpageafricaonline.com

Minister Nuetah, accompanied by a high-level Liberian delegation, is attending the 2026 World Food Forum, being held from October 8–16 at FAO headquarters under the theme, “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.”

The gathering brings together government leaders, investors and development partners to advance agricultural investment, innovation and global food security.

Presenting Liberia’s investment opportunities on Wednesday, October 14, under the theme, “Liberia: From Import Dependence to Food Self-Sufficiency,” Minister Nuetah outlined four priority investment areas: US$243 million for rice, US$70 million for cocoa, US$32 million for cassava and US$25 million for maize.

“Liberia should not remain a country with abundant agricultural potential that depends heavily on imported food. We must turn our land and natural agricultural endowment into food, wealth, employment and prosperity,” the Minister declared.

Rice accounts for the largest share of the proposed investments, reflecting the Government’s determination to reduce import dependence. Domestic production currently meets only 35 to 40 percent of national demand, while rice imports exceeded US$75 million during the first half of 2026.

With more than 600,000 hectares of potentially irrigable land, Minister Nuetah highlighted opportunities to invest in irrigation, mechanized production, modern milling facilities, and market development.

“Our ambition is not simply to grow more rice. It is to build a competitive domestic industry that serves not just Liberian consumers but continental Africa and the rest of the world,” he emphasized.

The Minister also highlighted opportunities in cassava processing for industrial starch and animal feed, cocoa production and value addition, and maize cultivation to support Liberia’s poultry and livestock industries.

The four investment opportunities are projected to benefit about 23,900 people directly and 119,700 indirectly, creating jobs, expanding markets, and improving livelihoods, particularly for smallholder farmers, women, and young people.

With agriculture contributing approximately 29 to 34 percent of Liberia’s GDP and employing more than 60 percent of the workforce, Minister Nuetah stressed the importance of private investment in unlocking the sector’s largely untapped potential.

He assured prospective investors of the Government’s commitment to facilitating investment through One-Stop-Shop services, investment incentives, agro-industrial processing zones and duty-free provisions for eligible agricultural machinery and inputs.

“Capital does not move on ambition alone. Investors need credible information, sound project preparation, clear implementation arrangements and a supportive policy environment.

The Government of Liberia(GoL) is committed to providing these,” he stated.

Concluding his investment presentation, Minister Nuetah invited international investors, financial institutions and development partners to engage directly with the Liberian delegation and explore opportunities to transform the proposals into concrete investments.

“Let us move from agricultural potential to productive investment. From import dependence to food self-sufficiency. And from underused resources to a prosperous, resilient and inclusive agricultural economy,” he urged.

The Minister thanked FAO for providing a platform to connect Liberia’s agricultural priorities with international financing, expertise, and commercial partnerships.

In a related engagement earlier in the day, Minister Nuetah participated in a high-level panel discussion titled “From Bean to Bar: Ensuring Chocolate’s Value Reaches Cocoa Farmers,” alongside senior representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank and global chocolate manufacturer Ferrero.

The discussion examined how cocoa-producing countries can secure greater benefits from the global chocolate industry through improved farmer incomes, stronger market access, sustainable production and increased investment in processing and value addition.

For Liberia, the engagement highlighted the country’s growing potential as an emerging cocoa producer in West Africa and the importance of attracting private investment in processing, aggregation, storage, and marketing to strengthen competitiveness in international markets.

The discussion also reinforced Liberia’s US$70 million cocoa investment proposal, which seeks to expand production, promote value addition and improve market opportunities for more than 40,000 smallholder cocoa farmers.

Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah has held high-level discussions with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dr. QU Dongyu, in Rome, seeking to strengthen cooperation in mobilizing more than US$300 million in agricultural investments, revitalizing the country’s Liberica coffee industry, and expanding mechanization services nationwide.

Minister Nuetah, who is leading a high-level Liberian delegation to the 2026 World Food Forum, held the discussions at FAO headquarters on the sidelines of the gathering, which runs from October 8–16 under the theme “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.”

The engagement focused on translating Liberia’s agricultural priorities into investment opportunities, expanding access to international markets, and strengthening partnerships to accelerate agricultural transformation.

Central to the discussions was Liberia’s agricultural investment portfolio, scheduled for presentation on October 14 under FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative. The portfolio seeks to attract more than US$300 million in financing for priority agricultural investments.

Minister Nuetah emphasized the need for credible investors who can support the country’s agricultural transformation beyond primary production, particularly through investments in processing, value addition, post-harvest management, and market development.

Dr. QU welcomed the investment ambitions and highlighted opportunities to facilitate connections with development finance institutions and private investors through FAO’s Investment Center and international partnerships.

Beyond investment mobilization, the discussions also focused on efforts to revive the country’s Liberica coffee industry and position it as a competitive player in the international coffee market.

Recalling the FAO Director-General’s visit to Liberia, during which the One Country, One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative was launched with the symbolic planting of a Liberica coffee tree at the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister Nuetah emphasized the importance of building on that partnership.

He requested additional support beyond the existing Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) to expand coffee production, strengthen the supply of quality seedlings, improve processing capacity, and promote Liberica coffee as a distinctive international brand.

Dr. QU highlighted opportunities to establish commercial partnerships with leading European coffee companies, including Illy and Lavazza, while exploring potential markets in China. Such partnerships could create opportunities for contract farming, processing investments, and reliable market access for Liberian smallholder farmers.

Agricultural mechanization also featured prominently in the discussions, with Minister Nuetah requesting FAO support for a proposed US$1.5 million South-South Cooperation initiative to expand mechanization services across the country.

He outlined the Government’s mechanization service-center model, under which farmers access agricultural machinery at subsidized rates without bearing the burden of equipment ownership and maintenance.

With over three hundred pieces of agricultural equipment received through cooperation with China and mechanization hubs established in six counties, the Government is seeking additional technical assistance to extend services to the remaining nine counties.

Dr. QU welcomed the approach, citing China’s experience with professionally managed mechanization services, and proposed exploring technical cooperation to train young Liberians in machinery operation, maintenance, and service-center management.

Minister Nuetah expressed appreciation for FAO’s continued support, particularly its contributions to the country’s agricultural investment agenda and coffee development initiatives.

He also welcomed progress toward deploying a new FAO Country Representative to Liberia, whose appointment has received the Government’s clearance.

The engagement underscores the Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to leveraging international partnerships and investment to increase agricultural productivity, create employment opportunities, strengthen food security, and improve livelihoods across Liberia.

In Jormakpeh Town, farmer James Lassakollie once stored enough rice to carry his village through the hunger season. Today, silted swamps, erratic rains, creeping rubber plantations and a shortage of machinery have thinned his harvest, and his story mirrors a national struggle in a country that imports about 61 percent of its staple.

It is 5:00 a.m. on a Monday in Jormakpeh Town, and James Lassakollie is already awake. He pulls on his dirty-gat, the worn clothes Liberian farmers keep for working days, takes up his boots and cutlass, and heads into the bush to drive birds off the little rice his cou, or work group, has broadcast on his farm. It is a routine he has known since childhood.

By: Laymah Kollie

Jormakpeh lies in Kpaai District #1, Bong County, in north-central Liberia.

At the farm, what he sees troubles him. The rice is no longer yielding as abundantly as it did decades ago. Weeds are germinating faster than the broadcast rice, which raises the cost of maintenance and cuts the harvest.

“When we plant rice these days, it can’t grow well. The small farm I made  seh na looking like it will produce plenty of rice for us this year,” the farmer says.

The once-proficient farmer and hunter now struggles to fend for his family. Life was not always like this.

When the Barn Was Full

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Lassakollie’s farms produced tons of rice that stayed in store, in large quantities, until the next harvest. During the rainy season, widely regarded as the lean season, neighbors came to his farm for food. In the Lassakollie household, food was never a problem; there was enough meat and rice in the kitchen all year round.

“When we used to farm, the rice used to grow so well. Sometimes, the eddoes used to grow so well in the rice farm, same with cassava. Things were very fine, life was peaceful.”

Recalling his childhood, Lassakollie says growing up with his siblings was fun, nurturing and lovely because they never had to worry about what to eat. Every morning he accompanied his father to the farm to tend the crops, hunt animals and fish in the surrounding creeks and rivers.

His fortunes kept rising into adulthood. In the early 1990s, he started a family and moved into his own household, ready to build a life outside the home of his mother, father and siblings. His first rice farm yielded so well that the harvest lasted into the rainy season, and he sold part of it to neighbors during the hunger season.

“The first farm I made, it gave me two kitchens full of rice, big, big! Yeah, the rice grew.

“Sometimes, 10 or 15 persons will harvest rice and they will harvest 200, 300 bunches of rice per day. We had two kitchens here, one in the town and one on the farm. The one on the farm was what we used to start eating first. By July, August like that, we used to start selling the one in the town, and share some with our family members too.

“But now, when we farm, there is no rice,” James explains.

For the father of nine, life was good. His children were well fed from his rice kitchen and from meat caught in his traps. Now the once-plentiful grain has become precious in his neighborhood. His fields are no longer fertile, and what they yield does not last.

A Hunger Measured in Numbers

Lassakollie’s experience sits inside a wider national picture. In the 2025 Global Hunger Index, Liberia ranked 112th out of 123 countries with a score of 30.0, which falls in the index’s “serious” category (20.0 to 34.9). That is an improvement on the 47.7 the country recorded in 2000, but the report describes progress as slow. Africa South of the Sahara and South Asia remain the two regions where hunger is still serious. The Ministry of Agriculture has questioned the ranking, arguing that it relies on dated data and that more recent national assessments show gains.

Poverty stands at number one on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015, which aim to end poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. With four years left, the reports suggest the world may miss that target. The Global Hunger Index likewise projects that at least 56 countries will not reach even a low level of hunger by 2030 if current trends persist.

Why the Granary Is Emptying

Liberia imports about 61 percent of its staple food, rice. The 2025 Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey (CFSNS) found that 21.5 percent of households are food insecure, and 56.2 percent are only marginally food secure, underscoring high vulnerability across the country.

The numbers behind the rice gap are stark. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Liberia needs an estimated 650,000 tons of rice a year but produces only about 240,000 tons of milled rice. Per capita consumption is about 133 kilograms a year, among the highest in Africa, and national consumption grew by 63 percent between 2008 and 2022.

The crisis did not happen overnight. It crept gradually into the center  of the economy and the agricultural landscape, and in some respects it has been aggravated by the farming practices of rural households themselves.

Agriculture remains the backbone of the economy. According to the 2022/2023 Agriculture Census of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), the sector contributes roughly 38 percent of Liberia’s GDP and employs nearly 70 percent of the population, across approximately 499,732 agricultural households. The census shows that smallholder farmers primarily grow rice, cassava, cocoa and oil crops, which also makes the sector highly sensitive to changing climate patterns.

1. Manual Farming on Worn-Out Land

The longstanding farmer names the lack of modern farming tools and techniques as one of the main reasons for the decline on his farm. Farmers continue to cultivate manually in this modern era, he says, even as erosion degrades much of the soil. Swamps are drying up or silting faster than usual because they are cultivated repeatedly, without mechanization or proper water control. A competitive analysis published on the Coalition for African Rice Development platform notes that about 97 percent of Liberia’s rice area is rain-fed.

“Even the swamp we used to make, the swamp rice, you used to harvest it three times, because that place will be full. When you cut it, the rice will re-germinate, so you cut it again.

“But this time, you go in the swamp, because you made the swamp this year, next year you make the swamp, then sand na pack up that place. So, it’s hard, if we say we will make it on our own.”

2. A Calendar Gone Astray

Rainfall patterns have also shifted, leaving farmers without a predictable planting calendar and disrupting crop growth.

“Like before, the only time you used to see rain was around March ending, but this time, there is no special time for rain. Rain season time you see sun shining, dry season time rain falling. So, no special time now,” Lassakollie says.

The Climate Vulnerability Risk Assessment (CVRA) warns that rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events threaten crop yields, livestock health and food security (EPA, 2021).

3. Cash Crops Closing in on the Rice Fields

Cash crops such as cocoa, rubber and oil palm are steadily claiming the forest. Indigenes of Jormakpeh Town and surrounding villages have made it a practice to plant cash crops on every piece of land where they harvested rice farms and gardens. In Kpaai District, rubber is the most common commodity. Many villagers now depend heavily on cash crops for their daily meals while limiting production of the country’s staple food, and the spread of tree crops is shrinking forest cover and wildlife.

As a result, many farmers in Jormakpeh have stopped cultivating rice and now rely on imported rice and meat to feed their families.

The trade data show how important rubber has become. In 2024, Liberia exported $182 million worth of rubber, making it the 11th-largest exporter of rubber among 127 countries. Within Liberia, rubber was the fifth most exported product out of 379 commodities.

Farmers are turning to rubber and cocoa, for now, to meet daily needs. But these crops pose a serious risk to food production, especially rice.

To Lassakollie, the trade-off is plain. The rubber brings income for his family, but it also removes the land on which the family could grow its staple.

“The bush can’t grow back, because the rubber has finished occupying that space. So, no bush will be there again for us to make a rice farm.”

Science supports his worry. A 2026 study in ScienceDirect found that rubber plantations heavily degrade soil quality over time, creating severe chemical, physical and biological challenges for later or intercropped rice production. Rice fields maintain a higher soil quality index than rubber monocultures, the study notes, yet converting land from rubber back to rice, or trying to grow hill paddy between rubber trees, faces major agronomic hurdles.

Lassakollie believes the dream of Liberia feeding itself is a long way off. Given the scarcity in food production today, he argues, the vision will be difficult to achieve.

“The way things are going now, for Liberia to feed itself will be difficult. It will be hard to stop importation because everyone is buying rice, we are not farming like we used to anymore.”

Other Farmers, Same Story

The situation is not unique to Lassakollie. Other farmers describe similar circumstances.

Ramcy F. Dolo, a dedicated rice farmer with more than twenty years’ experience in Kopeh’s Town, District Four, Panta, says changing rainfall patterns are hurting his crop yields. He says the government has provided neither opportunities nor equipment to farmers in his region, and he believes that if it extended help to farmers across the country, Liberians would be able to feed themselves.

“Imagine someone making a farm without tools or equipment for agriculture, by ground, but then working on your own to grow this variety. I think if the government of Liberia can put in time for agriculture to provide more equipment, I think Liberia can stand on her own by producing rice and other things.”

Winston Porlornor, a vegetable farmer from Galla Town, District Four, echoes those challenges.

“We are seeing a misunderstanding in rainfall patterns. At the time when rain is supposed to fall, there is only sunshine, while at the time when sunshine is expected, rainfall can occur, especially during August and September.”

In Winston’s view, Liberia can feed itself, but only with the help of the national government.

“We can feed ourselves as a nation, Liberia, but it would only happen through supportive efforts from the Ministry of Agriculture, the national government of Liberia, and NGOs,” Winston says.

What Are Policymakers Doing?

President Joseph Boakai’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), which stands for Agriculture, Road, Rule of Law, Sanitation and Tourism, sets a broad goal of using agriculture to drive food security, employment, income generation, value addition and economic growth. It projects average agricultural-sector growth of 7 percent over the plan period and targets annual production of 630,000 metric tons of food and cash crops by 2029.

Under Program 8, on food and cash crop production, the agenda sets four targets for 2029 that bear directly on this story: raise local seed production by 30 percent; cut imports of food crops by 30 percent in areas where Liberia has a comparative advantage; cut imports of processed agricultural products by 30 percent where it has a comparative advantage; and formalize and strengthen 100 additional farmer cooperatives, including climate-resilient and ecological practices.

To drive this, the President launched the “Liberians Feed Yourself” National Development Plan in 2024 to boost food security and economic growth.

In an interview, Agriculture Minister Alexander Neutah said that from 2024 to date the government has developed 16,825 hectares of lowland with bunds, about a third of its 50,000-hectare target for rice production in hotspot counties such as Bong, Nimba and Lofa.

“Currently, from the data we have, we have 16,825 hectares of lowland developed with bunds and all in place for farmers to carry on continuous production.

“I think for rice production, we have done a major achievement in that. We’ve been able to increase production. We’ve been able to also increase farmers’ access to basic inputs that are needed to enhance their productive capacity,” he added.

The Minister was not specific about how many cooperatives the government is working with so far but said “Liberians Feed Yourself” is empowering farmers to produce rice that can serve the country.

The cash-crop question

Asked about the risk cash crops pose to upland farming, the Minister said these crops earn foreign exchange on the world market, so they should continue to be grown where they are best suited. In his view, not every Liberian has to farm rice for the country to feed itself; cash-crop producers can use their income to buy food and other necessities for their families.

“You don’t have to be producing to be food secure. People can be producing; you buy from them. Once you have income, you are able to purchase food.”

Mechanization and cooperatives

On the lack of technology and equipment for lowland farms, the Minister acknowledged the challenge. He said the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, is establishing mechanization centers in communities to encourage large-scale production.

He also urged farmers to organize into cooperatives or clubs and work collectively in their regions, stressing that the government does not offer support to individuals and that, while it is working to improve food security, it cannot reach everywhere at once.

“If you are producing a few hundred hectares, you need to have tractors that will help you plough. You need to have the power tiller. You need to have maybe the harvesters that will help you do that. This way now the government is investing in the establishment of the mechanization hubs. So, the farmers in the production regions can have access to equipment for large-scale production.”

On whether Liberia can feed itself, Minister Neutah said the answer depends on citizens taking ownership of production so that the country can reduce food imports.

“If we have to feed ourselves as a nation, it will be Liberians and Liberian farmers to do that. Because the government can make the investment, but it takes citizens to own it”

Fish Ponds, Gardens and a Plea for Support

At 60, the father of nine is not giving up. Rice may be failing him, but he is finding other ways to keep his family out of hunger. He has moved into aquaculture and now runs four large fishponds in his village, which supply protein for his household and income from sales to neighbors. He has also taken up vegetable gardening, growing peppers, okra and garden eggs, among other crops.

“I can fish; I can sell more. Sometimes, when I sell, I can get $50,000, $60,000 Liberian dollars (about USD$333.00), then we eat some, we sell some to family.”

The ponds have also become an improvised rice plot of sorts. After the fish harvest, he says, water is held in the pond until planting time, and it is the one place that still gives him a little rice.

“If government can provide modern equipment and techniques for us to improve our farms, it will be fine for us. Right now, the only place that can produce little rice for me is the fishpond, because after harvest we can tie the water and it sits there with the fish until we are about to plant.”

Lassakollie is pleading with the government and relevant authorities for modern equipment to raise his output. He also wants materials to raise cattle on the farm. Recounting the fishpond story, he says an NGO visited the town and trained residents in fishpond farming, but many villagers could not build ponds of their own because they lacked basic materials.

“Let the government help us with some wires so we can fence our cattle. Again, what we want the government to help us with is fishpond business. We got the training but no materials. They only told us what to do but no empowerment. That’s why many people failed in creating their own fishpond.”

Credit is another gap. The farmer says loans would help farmers expand their production.

“If there is even a loan that we can take to improve our fishpond and pay back in instalments, we will agree. But nothing like that.”

“We are not giving loans to farmers… the challenge now is access to financing for most of them.” — Agriculture Minister Alexander Neutah

Responding, Minister Neutah acknowledged that financing is a major challenge for Liberian farmers. He said the government does not give farmers loans but supports them by developing their land at no cost.

“We are not giving loans to farmers. We’ve been supporting farmers. I can tell you, the challenge now is access to financing for most of them. Because our financial system does not create sufficient opportunities for those into agriculture to access funding for investment.”

Speaking about the proposed Agriculture Enterprise Development Bank, the Minister said getting investors to put money into it has been difficult. Such an institution would make lending funds affordable and accessible to farmers and cooperatives.

A bill sponsored by Lofa County Senator Joseph Jallah was unanimously passed by the Senate in December 2025 and is now before the House of Representatives for concurrence. Once enacted, the law is expected to address farmers’ limited access to finance by creating a specialized lender that expands credit to agribusinesses and agro-processors.

“So, if it comes to lending, the government has been trying to come up with a financial institution to establish the Agriculture Enterprise Development Bank. We’re still working on that,” Minister Neutah lamented.

Back in Jormakpeh, the question of whether Liberia can feed itself is being tested one pond, one garden and one thin rice plot at a time. Between a farmer who says he cannot do it without tools, credit and training that comes with materials, and a minister who says Liberians themselves must take ownership, lies the gap the country has yet to close.

MONROVIA –  The Chief Executive Officer of SAPPIMAH Cassava Refining Company, Beyan Flomo Pewee, has welcomed a proposed US$100 million investment in Liberia’s cassava sector but is urging the government to give greater attention to Liberian-owned agricultural businesses struggling to secure financing for expansion.

By Francis G. Boayue

Pewee in a Facebook post on Wednesday,  October 7 said while foreign investment remains important to the growth of Liberia’s agricultural sector, it should not come at the expense of local entrepreneurs who are already operating in the sector and seeking capital to scale their businesses.

“The proposed US$100 million investment in Liberia’s cassava sector is welcome,” Pewee said. “But I have one serious question for the Ministry of Agriculture: What are we doing for the Liberian manufacturers already struggling to raise US$1–5 million to scale?”

His comments come amid growing discussions around investment in Liberia’s agricultural sector, with the government placing agriculture among its key development priorities.

According to Pewee, existing financing mechanisms for local agricultural manufacturers remain inadequate to support businesses seeking to transition from small-scale operations into commercially viable industries.

He argued that grants ranging between US$50,000 and US$200,000 are insufficient for agricultural manufacturers seeking to establish or significantly expand processing facilities.

“We cannot keep giving agricultural manufacturers US$50,000–$200,000 grants and expect them to build serious industrial businesses,” he said.

Pewee pointed specifically to cassava processing, noting that even relatively simple gari or fufu production operations could require between US$1 million and US$2 million when equipment, electricity, working capital, raw materials, packaging and market access are taken into consideration.

He stressed that his position should not be interpreted as opposition to foreign investment.

“I am not against foreign investment. Bring the US$100 million,” Pewee said. “But foreign investment cannot become a substitute for building Liberian-owned businesses.”

The cassava entrepreneur is calling on the Ministry of Agriculture to identify a group of promising Liberian-owned agricultural enterprises and provide them with targeted support to expand their operations.

“Minister Nuetey, pick 5–10 serious Liberian agricultural businesses. Help them access capital, markets, technology and export opportunities. Help them scale,” he urged.

Pewee said Liberia should measure the success of its agricultural policies not only by the volume of foreign capital attracted to the country, but also by the number of Liberian-owned companies that become commercially sustainable and generate significant revenues.

“Agriculture is this government’s number-one priority,” he said. “Then let us measure success not only by how much foreign capital we attract, but by how many Liberian companies we help reach US$1 million in annual revenue.”

He described the development of locally owned agricultural enterprises as essential to achieving what he called genuine economic empowerment and agricultural transformation.

“That is true empowerment. That is agricultural transformation,” Pewee said.

He further cautioned against overlooking local entrepreneurs while pursuing large-scale external investments, arguing that Liberian businesses already operating in the agricultural sector should be treated as important components of the country’s investment strategy.

“We cannot keep searching for the diamond outside while ignoring the one being built here,” he said.

Pewee concluded his remarks by reaffirming his commitment to cassava production and processing, saying: “I’m going back to my cassava farm.”

Monrovia – Since informing the House Committee on Agriculture that he gave the advisement to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for the issuance of Executive Order 166 on the exportation of raw rubber, Agriculture Minister Dr. Alexander Nuetah has been a subject of heavy criticism from local rubber farmers.

By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway

The CEO of Meawon Liberia Incorporated, Mr. Charles Bamakpeh, is one of several rubber farmers to have taken the Minister to task for advising the President to issue what rubber farmers see as a “death sentence” for local farmers and businesses.  

Predicated upon this, Bamakpeh wants the Order, which was signed on June 26, 2026, repealed so as to boost the local rubber industry.

Bamakpeh, who has been a leading voice against the operationalization of this Executive Order, points out that this Presidential directive is crippling the businesses of local rubber farmers.

Bamakpeh, as usual, informed the media on the weekend that warehouses across the country are overflowing with unsold rubber, long-standing export contracts have been terminated, and thousands of smallholder farmers are now forced to sell at rock-bottom prices just to survive.

“Meawon Liberia Inc. and many other Liberian-owned companies have been completely cut off. We can no longer honor our international trade agreements. Our workers are now jobless, and farming families cannot sustain their homes or send their children to school,” he stated.

For him, Executive Order 151, which allowed the export of unprocessed rubber upon payment of US$150 per metric ton – a system he intoned, kept local businesses alive while generating revenue for government was the best option that supports the growth of local economy.  

According to the Meawon boss, the new Order does not serve ordinary Liberians, but rather protects foreign concession companies and paves the way for a foreign monopoly over Liberia’s rubber sector.

During his appearance before the House Committee on Agriculture, when he was called to provide clarity on the controversies surrounding the Order, Minister Nuetah told lawmakers of the Lower Chamber of Liberia’s bicameral Legislature that the directive was the best way forward for the industry.

But to the local farmers, this is a betrayal of trust by siding with foreign interests and, as such, the President should have him dismissed and appoint a new minister who prioritizes the business interests of local farmers.

Most disappointingly, Bamakpeh noted that the ban was imposed without any grace period, despite the Ministry of Agriculture knowing that local exporters were holding huge stocks.

“The Minister has been confrontational with farmers in the field instead of addressing their welfare and this is really killing us. He is seeking foreign investors at the United Nations General Assembly while suppressing Liberian businesses at home,” Bamakpeh asserted.

“It is my perspective that Minister Alexander Nuetah is operating with executive shielding to the detriment of Liberia’s rubber industry. We urgently request that the administration repeal Executive Order 166 and dismiss the Minister of Agriculture without delay,” Bamakpeh added.

Monrovia – Grand Kru County has not had a working cattle herd in a generation. Its old county ranch is mostly memory now — cleared pasture reclaiming itself, pens that haven’t held an animal in years. So, when the Ministry of Agriculture said 200 Muturu cows were coming, and that this southeastern county would be first in line, it read to many there as more than a delivery of livestock. It read as a promise that the ranch, and the income it once supported, might come back to life.

Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

That promise is now tangled in a dispute over money — one playing out not between the ministry and its critics on the ground, but between the Ministry of Agriculture and the national government’s own budget book.

The ministry’s explanation

Reached for comment, the Ministry of Agriculture pushed back, point by point, against the budget figures FrontPageAfrica had put to it.

In a written response, the ministry said the $3 million line item widely cited from Annex 7 of the National Budget’s ArcelorMittal Liberia Signature Bonus Allocation does not appear anywhere in its approved books.

According to the ministry, its full FY2026 appropriation totals $10,495,326 — $3,477,083 in basic salaries, $1,812,159 in goods and services, and $5,150,500 in government-funded Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) spending. That PSIP allocation splits into two sub-projects: $3.2 million for Food and Cash Crop Production Value Chain, and $1.95 million for Livestock and Poultry Value Chain Production.

The ministry said the supplemental appropriation it actually received from the $200 million ArcelorMittal signature bonus, after the FY2026 budget recast, was just $358,078 — far short of the $4.5 million ($3 million for livestock, $1.5 million for general agriculture value chain) recorded against its name in Annex 7. “There was never $3 million allocated for ‘Support for livestock and Poultry value chain Production’ in the supplemental budget for MOA from the ArcelorMittal Liberia Signature Bonus,” the ministry wrote. The $200,000 spent on the 200 Muturu cattle, it said, came out of the ministry’s approved core PSIP budget — not the signature bonus at all.

The road to Grand Kru

Twenty-four of the thirty-five cows that set out for Grand Kru never made it. They went down along the way — worn out, the ministry says, by a long haul without enough food, the kind of overland journey that is hard on cattle even in the best conditions.

The supplier has admitted fault and promised replacements at no cost to the government. But no cost to the government is not the same as no cost at all: those were animals meant to found herds, calve, and carry families through lean seasons, and more than two out of every three in the first batch never got the chance.

That toll is far starker than the public was first told. The ministry’s own July 29 announcement, and a Facebook post cheering the program along, both mentioned the deaths only in passing — “some of the cows,” with no count attached. Behind that soft phrase were twenty-four animals a Grand Kru farmer will never see arrive.

What was announced

On July 29, 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the arrival of the first 200 Muturu cattle, a purchase it said was budgeted at $200,000 — $1,000 per cow. Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah said the cattle would be distributed to farmers in Grand Kru County, alongside a government-funded rehabilitation of the county ranch under the Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP).

A Facebook page, Jallah TV, later ran a post defending the purchase against unnamed critics — “trashing the lies,” as its headline put it — confirming that of the first 47 cows to land, 12 went to the Central Agricultural Research Institute, and 35 were trucked toward Grand Kru, with some dying en route.

The post framed the losses as routine, noting the transporters had agreed to replace the dead animals, and closed by thanking the minister.

Two documents, two totals

The FY2026 National Budget itself is unambiguous on paper. Annex 7, titled “ArcelorMittal Liberia Signature Bonus Allocation,” lists under “Support to Agriculture Sector”: $1.5 million to the Ministry of Agriculture for “additional support to enhance Agriculture value chain,” and $3 million for “Support for Livestock and Poultry Value Chain Production” — a sector sub-total of $4.7 million once the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority’s $200,000 line is added.

The ministry says that document does not match what it actually received: $358,078 in supplemental funding from the signature bonus, and nothing more. Neither the newspaper’s review of the published budget nor the ministry’s written response explains why a page of the national budget and the ministry charged with spending it describe two different sums for the same purpose. That discrepancy — not the price of a cow — is now the central open question.

The wider context

Independent reporting on the FY2026 budget adds useful background. The $200 million ArcelorMittal signature bonus — tied to the renewal of the company’s mineral development agreement — accounts for nearly 17 percent of total budget revenue and was described as fully allocated to development projects.

Economists quoted in that coverage warned that a significant share of the budget increase rests on this one-time payment, raising sustainability concerns, with one warning that Liberia will only move forward once it stops the money that is silently flowing backward. Separate analysis of the same budget found the Legislature’s allocation running nearly four times the national agriculture budget, even as hospitals report medicine shortages and schools remain dilapidated.

What still needs answering

The ministry has offered to share the FY2026 PSIP project document, procurement updates, cash plans, and related implementation records, an offer FrontPageAfrica intends to take up. Two questions remain unresolved: why the printed National Budget records $4.5 million in agriculture supplemental funding that the ministry says never existed, and what portion of the $1.95 million core PSIP livestock line — along with the $3.2 million food and cash-crop line — has actually been disbursed as of September 2026, a question the ministry’s response did not directly address.

Why it matters

A government ministry publicly contradicting its own national budget document is, on its own, a story worth Liberians’ attention — whichever account turns out to be accurate, one official record is wrong. Add to that a cattle-import program whose first shipment lost nearly seven in ten animals before reaching the farmers it was meant to help, and the story stops being only about arithmetic. It becomes a question of whether a flagship livestock program was adequately planned, funded, and executed — regardless of which line item paid for it.

The ministry’s response, in full

The Ministry of Agriculture responded in writing to every question FrontPageAfrica put to it, and its full letter — including its rejection of the Annex 7 figures and its account of the cattle deaths — is also being published today.

The ministry says the FY2026 PSIP Livestock Production Project remains under implementation and that no completed audit yet covers it, but it has offered supporting project documentation to this newspaper ahead of further reporting.

For now, the arithmetic sits unresolved in Monrovia, argued over in letters between a newsroom and a ministry. In Grand Kru, the question is simpler and more immediate: how many of the promised 200 cows will actually arrive, healthy, and put to work on pastures that have waited years for them.

BONG COUNTY – For farmers and motorcyclists in Bong County Electoral District One, the arrival of the rainy season has traditionally meant slower work, spoiled harvests, and treacherous roads.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com  

This year, however, twelve communities across the district have a reason to face the rains with renewed confidence, following a fresh round of empowerment items from Representative Prince K. Koinah, who distributed twelve rice milling machines, more than 500 pairs of rain boots, and 180 raincoats to cooperatives and transport workers.

The exercise, supervised on the ground by the lawmaker’s chief adviser, Mr. Eli Y. Gotogan, unfolded over the course of a week and reached towns including Deso Town, Guamue, Gbalokpah, Siva Town, Gbecon, Zeo, Nagbo Town, Dalina, U-lah, New Town, Camp Two, and Yolo Town, each receiving mills, boots, or both depending on local need.

Asked about the thinking behind the gesture, Hon. Koinah pointed to the seasonal hardship that has long defined agricultural life in District One, where the arrival of heavy rains typically slows down rice processing and turns farm paths into hazardous, muddy stretches.

He noted that many of the district’s rice cooperatives still depend on rudimentary, manual milling methods that eat up valuable time and labor, cutting into the earnings farmers could otherwise take home, and said the newly distributed machines were selected specifically to relieve that pressure by allowing cooperatives to process far greater volumes of paddy rice in a fraction of the time.

He also linked the rain boots directly to farmer health and safety, explaining that without proper protective footwear, many rice farmers are routinely exposed to waterborne illness, cuts, and snake encounters while working knee-deep in flooded paddies, a risk he said no farmer should have to accept simply to feed their family or supply the local market.

Rep. Koinah extended similar reasoning to his decision to include commercial motorcyclists in the distribution, describing them as an essential but often overlooked link between rural farming communities and the markets, schools, and clinics they depend on.

He explained that when rains are heaviest, many riders either brave the elements without protection, risking sickness and reduced income, or park their bikes entirely, cutting off transportation for entire communities until conditions improve — a gap he said the raincoats were designed to close.

The lawmaker was also keen to frame the effort as part of an ongoing program rather than an isolated act of generosity, recalling that he first distributed twelve rice mills and rain boots to district cooperatives back in 2021, and noting that this latest round pushes his cumulative total to 24 rice mills and more than 1,000 pairs of rain boots handed out since the program began. In his view, the real measure of the initiative’s success will not be the items themselves, but the farming capacity and economic resilience they help build long after the distribution ends.

Cooperative members on the receiving end wasted no time voicing their appreciation, describing the timing of the gesture as nearly perfect given how far the rainy season had already progressed.

A representative of the rice growers in Guamue said the new mill would spare cooperative members the long, exhausting trips they previously made to neighboring towns just to have their paddy processed, freeing up time and money that could instead go toward expanding their farms. “Before now, some of our members were losing almost a full day just moving their rice to another town to be milled; now that work happens right here, and that changes everything for us,” the representative said, adding that the rain boots would allow farmers to work longer hours in the fields without fear of illness or injury.

For the motorcyclists who received raincoats, the gesture carried a different but equally personal significance, touching directly on their ability to earn a living safely during the wettest months of the year. A union representative explained that many riders had previously had to choose between risking their health on the road during downpours or losing a day’s income by staying home, a trade-off that hit hardest for those supporting large families.

“Every rainy season, some of us get sick from riding in the rain without protection, and when we can’t ride, our families don’t eat; these raincoats mean we can keep working without putting our health on the line,” the representative said. Both groups called on Rep. Koinah to sustain the momentum of the program in the years ahead, pledging in turn to make the most of the equipment to boost productivity and strengthen livelihoods across Bong County Electoral District One.