— As Liberia to Share in Nigeria’s Experience for Self- sufficiency

The two-day Seed Business Summit themed: “Building a Harmonized Roadmap for Seed Sector Transformation”, will be held 25-26 March in Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

IPNEWS: The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with Agricultural development agencies, researchers, and policymakers are set to organize a business summit to draw a seed road map for the Liberia within the coming days.

The consortium includes the Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) project of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), AfDB-funded Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) of IITA, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) in Nigeria, and the Liberian government.

The two-day Seed Business Summit themed, “Building a Harmonized Roadmap for Seed Sector Transformation”, being organized in collaboration with the Liberian Ministry of Agriculture, will be held between 25 and 26 March in Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

The forum, which aims to catalyze an agricultural revolution in that country, is targeted at the establishment of an economically sustainable seed system for priority crops like rice, cassava, maize, soybean, and aquaculture.

“Factors limiting growth in Liberia’s agricultural sector include the underdeveloped seed sector characterized by poor quality seeds, a weak seed regulatory framework, a struggling research system for variety maintenance, and a feeble private sector participation in the seed system”, said Godwin Atser, the Country Director of Sasakawa Africa Association in Nigeria.

He said a solid seed system will surely change the country’s agricultural landscape. In this summit, SAA, BASICS-II, TAAT, and other partners will share the models currently strengthening the seed system in Nigeria.

He said: “For example, there’ll be powerful technical sessions where the host and other countries will be exposed to how BASICS-II is building a sustainable cassava seed system in Nigeria, and Tanzania.”

Mr Atser noted that they will also showcase how they are scaling and replicating seed system development in cassava, maize, soybean, and rice in other African countries.

The BASICS-II Project Manager, Lateef Sanni, explained that the seed business summit would elevate the voices of value chain actors in the rice, cassava, maize, soybean, and aquaculture seed system by sharing success stories on increasing the availability of climate adaptive, improved, and disease-free seed to improve farmers’ livelihoods.

“The summit will produce outcomes that will form the basis of future investment in Liberia’s seed system. It will produce recommendations that will help forge a roadmap that will feed into the country’s agricultural policies and plans: the Liberia Agriculture Sector Investment Plan, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, and other developmental initiatives in the country. Moreover, other sub-Saharan African countries can take a cue from it,” he said.

The Liberian Minister of Agriculture, Alex Nuetah, will chair the opening ceremony of the summit with the support of other Liberian dignitaries from the parliament and related ministries.

According to the organizers, apart from the IITA, Sasakawa Africa Association and the project leaders and partners of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) and BASICS-II, several national stakeholders and International Development partners will participate at the summit.

They include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI); the Integrated Rice-Fish Farming System (IRFFS), and the World Bank.

Others are the European Union’s Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) initiative; World Food Programme (WFP), International Monetary Fund (IMF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID); the EU, France, GIZ, Ireland, JICA and China, as well as agencies of the UN system.

Farmers, seed producers, Universities of Agriculture, and the National Seed Board of Liberia will also attend.

In a related development, Empowering Farmers: Fuamah District Cooperative Receives Boost

Agriculture Minister, Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah, accompanied by esteemed officials of the ministry, recently visited the Fuamah District Multi-Purpose Farmers’ Cooperative in Bong Mines. The purpose of this visit was twofold: to relaunch rice production activities within the cooperative and to evaluate the Ministry of Agriculture’s ongoing support in the district.

During the visit, Minister Nuetah expressed sincere appreciation for the dedication demonstrated by the farmers of Fuamah towards bolstering food security in Liberia. He reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to supporting farmers in their endeavors to increase food production.

Moreover, Minister Nuetah emphasized the importance of collaboration, stating that while the Ministry of Agriculture is committed to creating an enabling environment for farmers, active participation and dedication from farmers themselves are crucial for success.

In a significant announcement, Minister Nuetah highlighted that agriculture stands as President Joseph N. Boakai’s primary priority, and he assured that the ministry is fully aligned with the president’s vision for the sector. As a demonstration of this commitment, Minister Nuetah and his team provided essential agricultural equipment to the cooperative, including a multipurpose tractor, a mini bulldozer, and various improved implements aimed at enhancing efficiency and productivity.

Mr. Prince D. Peter, Chairman of the Fuamah District Multi-Purpose Farmers, expressed gratitude towards Minister Nuetah and his team for the increased support provided to farmers in Bong Mines. He underscored the transformative impact this assistance will have on expanding farms and increasing yields in the upcoming seasons.

Chairman Peter disclosed that the cooperative currently farms on over one thousand hectares of lowland and anticipates further expansion due to the intervention of the Ministry of Agriculture.

With renewed motivation and support from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Fuamah District Multi-Purpose Farmers’ Cooperative in Bong Mines is poised to emerge as a key player in Liberia’s efforts towards achieving food security.