Todee District, Montserrado County—The Rubber Planters Association of Liberia (RPAL), with support from the Rubber Development Fund Incorporated (RDFI), has donated 10 motorcycles to its county coordinators.
By Yawah Y. Jaivey
The donation is part of RPAL’s ongoing efforts to enhance the mobility and effectiveness of its coordinators as they work to transition smallholder rubber farmers into cooperatives.
Speaking during the presentation ceremony at RPAL’s headquarters in Todee District on Tuesday, RPAL President Wilhelmina G. Mulbah Siaway emphasized that the motorcycles were intended to improve the coordinators’ ability to engage farmers in the cooperative formation process.
“In order to support the efforts of our county coordinators, who are leading the initiative to organize smallholder farmers into cooperatives, we saw the need to provide them with motorcycles to facilitate their movement across various counties,” Mulbah Siaway stated.
“This is not the first time RPAL has provided such support to its coordinators,” Mulbah Siaway added, noting that the gesture is part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to assisting smallholder farmers through their county coordinators.
According to Madam, in addition to the motorcycles, RPAL president will also provide each coordinator with a monthly stipend of US$100 to cover gasoline and maintenance costs.
Madam Mulbah-Siaway disclosed that RPAL is actively promoting a shift from planting rubber seedlings to the more sustainable rubber clones, particularly the bud graft varieties, which offer higher yields.
“We are encouraging smallholder farmers to move away from planting seedlings and instead use the clone bud-grafted rubber plants that we supply to them. This will help make their farms more sustainable and profitable,” she said.
For his part, Mr. Tokpah J. Mulbah, head of RDFI, highlighted the technical support his organization is providing to smallholder farmers through RPAL’s county coordinators and field technicians.
He stressed the importance of farmers adopting improved rubber planting techniques to increase productivity.
“With the training and tools being provided, we expect smallholder farmers in Liberia to see significantly higher yields in the next 10 years to come,” Mr. Mulbah said.
He also urged farmers to work closely with RPAL, RDFI, and their partners to enhance their knowledge of rubber farming practices while adhering to environmental regulations that discourage deforestation.
Mr. Mulbah further disclosed that RDFI, in partnership with Ivorian rubber technicians, will soon launch a training program for Liberian smallholder farmers to boost their technical capacity in rubber farming.
Also speaking, Rufus K. Saye, RPAL’s Nimba County Coordinator, expressed gratitude on behalf of the recipients for the donation, noting that the motorcycles will play a crucial role in enhancing their work.
“The motorcycles and the upcoming training opportunities will greatly help us achieve our goals as we work to form cooperatives and improve our farming practices,” Saye said. He pledged to use the motorcycles for their intended purpose.
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