Gbarnga, Bong County-Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture and the Liberia Agro-business development Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture with funding from the United States Agency for International Development on Tuesday June 28, 2016 ended a weeklong capacity building training for Agro- dealers in the management and usage of agro- inputs in Gbarnga, Bong County.
Speaking at the official closing ceremony, CNFA/ LADA Organizational Capacity Building Manager Zaza Mulbah said, the training was the first in series of trainings geared towards the official certification of agro- dealers in Liberia by the government of Liberia.
According to Mr. Mulbah, the joint effort was to establish a common understanding of the use of agro- inputs and delivery to the farmers of Liberia.
He said, during the training, participants covered several key topics including targeting the certification process, managing working capital, basic financial record keeping, the environment and integrated soil fertility management.
He said, the training was also intended to increase the knowledge of the participants of agro- inputs and business management and afforded them the opportunity to share experiences thus initiating the idea of networking for forming themselves into an association to be called the agro- inputs dealers association of Liberia.
Mr. Mulbah further that the training also created a platform where CNFA/ LADA, agro dealers, the ministry of agriculture and the Central Agriculture Research Institute have begun building cordial professional relations
For his part, the acting Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development USAID Mervyn Farroe said, the training was part of the USAID feed the future activity aimed at increasing private sector investment in the agriculture sector of the Country by engaging private sector in the way business is done including how agriculture inputs are made available to small holders farmers.
Mr. Farroe said, the Liberia Agro- business development association will also work with the private sector to make relevant information available and engage in alliances with other actors with a common focus to increasing food security in Liberia.
Also speaking at the program, Agriculture Minister Dr. Moses Zinnah firstly commended the government and people of the United States through USAID for the continual support to Liberia especially the agriculture sector.
Dr. Zinnah said, he was personally pleased with the Liberia Agro-business development association because it is building from the Liberia Agriculture transformation agenda aimed at increasing private sector investment in the agriculture sector with a shift from the government to the people.
Dr. Zinnah further described Liberian agro- dealers as special because according to him, the use of fertilizer in Liberia is less than two percent.
The Liberian Agriculture Minister further challenged the participants to go back to their various counties with a renew focus of working with farmers to maximize productivity and assured that the government will support Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture and the Liberia Agro-business development association in ensuring the successful implementation of the project.
More than forty agro- dealers from the four CNFA/ LADA operational counties of Bong, Nimba, Lofa and Montserrado and the rest of the counties received certificates at the close of the training.
Our reporter who covered the closing ceremony said, the participants through their spokesperson Mrs. Rebecca Kalayah from Saclapea, Nimba County expressed their gratitude to USAID/ LADA and the Ministry of Agriculture for the organization of the training workshop noting that they are eager to return to their various counties to begin putting into practice the newly acquired knowledge and skills.
Our reporter who covered the closing ceremony said the enthusiasm among the participants remain high, especially with the newly acquired knowledge.
The Liberia Agro-business Development Association is a US $19.3 million USAID/ Feed The Future activity which is being implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). Its other partners are Business Start- up Center Monrovia, Enclude, and Global Cold Chain Alliance.
LADA will be implemented for five years in three Feed The Future counties; Bong, Nimba, Lofa and some parts of Montserrado County.
Component one is the focus of the agro-dealer training. LADA is building the capacity of the business owners and certificating them so they can gain access to finance through its co-investment fund (CIF). This is 50/50 match through cash or in-kind if the business qualifies. Component two will increase private sector investment in post- harvest handling support, processing, storage, transportation and marketing services and noted that component three will strengthen facilitation, marketing information services, advocacy and support for agribusinesses. Several cross-cutting issues including gender, access to finance, and the environment will also be addressed.
LADA encourages women and youth financial participation in agriculture and expects a minimum of 25% of grantees and more than 35% of training participants will be women.
It will also mobilize private input suppliers, agro -dealers, and aggregators around organized producer groups, increase the use of quality agricultural inputs and technologies, and ultimately increase the incomes of smallholder farmers (SHFs).
Initially, LADA will focus on rice and cassava, the Government of Liberia (GoL) priorities for agricultural development. It is also aligned itself with the GoL’s LATA (Liberia Agricultural Transformation Agenda’s) and has begun to analyze vegetable, cocoa, coffee, livestock, fish and oil palm value chains to identify investment opportunities and the potential to increase incomes.
The “Agro-Dealer Management and Agro-Inputs Usage Training” is one of many workshops that LADA will put on during its 5 year implementation.
LADA was launched on April 13, 2016 by its Chief of Party, Daniel Gies, CNFA executives, USAID and the GoL and is expected to officially open its Bong County office on July 5, 2016 Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai in attendance.