Monrovia – In its quest to improve the rubber sector of Liberia, Grow Liberia has ended a one-day curriculum validation program for major players in the rubber sector.
The one day program which was held on August 31, 2017 at Cape Hotel in Monrovia was intended for rubber producers in the country to come together and discuss the rubber ribbed smoked sheet curriculum program.
The rubber ribbed smoked sheet program (RSS) is a program that was formulated by Grow Liberia in partnership with five technical education training (TVETs) institutes for the development of a curriculum for training students and rubber producers in the production of RSS in Liberia.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed between GROW Liberia and the TVET institutions focus will be made to develop the associated curriculum including providing instructors training guides and training manuals on all activities ranging from farm management to the RSS processing.
Giving the overview of the curriculum development process, Yoquai V. Lavala, head of the RSS team at GROW Liberia said the one day validation curriculum program is about looking at the master plan which he said is for Liberia to start the processing of latex into finished products in time to come.
“Today this validation curriculum program is about looking at the master plan, which talks about the capacity building of Liberian rubber producers and the processing of rubber here in Liberia,” he said.
Mr. Lavala said GROW as an organization which is involved in developing market for institutions and organizations in Liberia will work with the Liberian farmers especially the rubber producers in developing their market through the rubber ribbed smoked sheet program (RSS).
“GROW is about developing market, and the RSS program is just one example,” he noted.
He said the rubber sector in Liberia has not improved in times past because it has been operating through one concession channel (the concession module), but said with the involvement of GROW the rubber sector of the country will start to improve greatly.
“From 1920 up to this time our rubber sector has not improved because we have been operating only through the concession program which does not offer processing facility, value addition or capacity building, but with GROW coming in to help, our rubber sector stands a chance to benefit,” he averred.
Giving the presentation of the Agronomy module at the RSS curriculum validation program, RSS consultant, Dr. Roland Massaquoi said with the implementation of the RSS curriculum, Liberia stands a chance to benefit not only from different types of investment but also from the creation of jobs.
Dr. Massaquoi said the MOU signed between GROW Liberia and the TVETs institutions is very important in the implementation of the RSS program.
“With the RSS in place our country will not only benefit from different types of investments, but will also benefit from the creation of jobs for our citizens.
“This MOU between GROW and TVETs institution is very timely in the implementation of the rubber ribbed smoked sheet,” Dr. Massaquoi noted.
For his part, the Director General of the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) said CARI will work with GROW and its partners in taking Liberia from being a rubber producer to a manufacturer of rubber materials.
The CARI boss said Liberia can follow the footstep of other rubber processing countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in improving their rubber sector, with the implementation of the RSS.
“We at CARI will work with GROW Liberia and other partners in making Liberia to be a manufacturer of rubber materials, and that Liberia can follow other countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in improving the rubber sector with RSS program,” he noted.
Report by Jackson F. Kanneh