Monrovia – Government plan to improve the livelihood of struggling Liberians who are below the poverty line may not yield result if key emphasis is not placed on agriculture, says Liberia’s Minister of Agriculture.
Dr. Mogana S. Flomo told a gathering on Wednesday that government’s priority to improve the lives of its citizens is impossible once the plan to investing in the agriculture sector continues to delay.
He was speaking at a two-day technical review and validation meeting for the second generation of the National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) of Liberia known as Liberia Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (LASIP) II, held in Monrovia.
Minister Flomo suggests that government must now consider the need to do more investments in the sector as a means of strengthening food security in the country.
He said it would be impossible for poverty to be eradicated once the issue food security ruins the country.
Dr. Flomo further lauded partners of the meeting for their commitment in working with the Liberian government to achieve its Pro-poor agenda.
The two-day technical meeting is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture with funding from ECOWAS and support of the EU/FAO partnership Food and Nutrition Security Impact Resilience Sustainability and Transformation (FIRST).
During the meeting, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reemphasized its commitment to working with Liberia to improve a sustainable agriculture sector.
FAO Country Representative Mariatou Njie outlined sustaining the forestry, fisheries and livestock as an important investment that can boost food security and enhance youth employment and economic growth.
Njie said FAO is willing to help the government achieve its pillars of economic growth.
By doing this, she noted that Liberia will address the issue of food self-sufficiency through different planned initiatives geared at rebuilding and transforming the agriculture sector.
In view of this, FAO, as ECOWAS key partner, it remains actively involved in the process at the regional level and in member countries, using the ECOWAS as entry point to provide technical support.
The FAO Head of Mission explained how the government of Liberia through the Ministry of Agriculture in consultation with key stakeholders drafted the LASIP II that focused on a comprehensive investment plan for the overall sector in 2017.
This plan, according to her, integrates food security and nutrition; the development of competitive agricultural value chains, natural resources management; research and development as well as institutional strengthening.
“Through LASIP II, the government of Liberia is paving the way for ending hunger by 2025 as committed by Heads of States and Governments of the African Union in the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for shared prosperity and improved Livelihoods,” Madam Njie added.
Njie further urged stakeholders that the two-day gathering must ensure that the Investment Plan is relevant to addressing the emerging global and regional initiatives.
She mentioned that in doing so, the implementation of the plan would require commitment, harmonization, alignment, coordination, accountability and political will.
FAO is already working on supporting urban agriculture, forestry, the management of natural resources through the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) of Land, Forestry and Fisheries.
This partnership focuses on National Food Security, improved crop and livestock production, development of aquaculture, improvement of informed decision making with the revamp of the agriculture statistics as well as the planned support for the establishment of food and nutrition security information system.
For his part, European Union (EU) Programme Manager, Hubertus Blom said that agriculture development is one of the foundations the EU is built on.
“This is one of the reasons the EU has committed itself in supporting the government achieves its development priorities,” Blom averred.
He praised the EU for actively supporting the program that provides the overarching goals and targets for agricultural development for the 2015-2025 periods.