IPNEWS: Agriculture Minister, Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah is calling for the involvement of all Liberians towards the improvement of food and nutrition security by embracing the implementation of the new agriculture agenda for the country.
According to Dr. Nuetah, the ‘Liberians Feed Yourselves Agenda’, which is also known as the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP), is a blueprint for overhauling Liberia’s agriculture sector into a thriving industry that propels the national economy to greater heights.
He said the plan has been designed to guide the nation in mobilizing resources to attract employment opportunities for the citizens, improve incomes of smallholder farmers, and enhance food and nutrition security.
“The ‘LIBERIANS FEED YOURSELVES AGENDA’ is therefore a program every Liberian and our partners should embrace. All Liberians and our partners should see the FEED YOURSELVES AGENDA as a vision for the future. We should all get on board and ensure its success,” he said.
President Joseph Nyumah Boakai recently launched the plan in Monrovia as a flagship program at a well-organized event attended by development partners, government officials and other stakeholders.
The NADP, a comprehensive and ambitious agriculture and food security strategy document, is meant to support agriculture and food security within six years (2024-2030), building around technology and a value-chain approach and is highly driven by strong political will.
The minister said the plan reflects the nation’s commitment to assisting farmers in deploying innovative technologies in development of selected agriculture value chains.
The plan seeks to mobilize more than US$700 million from the development partners, the government and the private sector.
The launch of the plan comes at a time when the nation’s agriculture and food security sectors are still experiencing low productivity due to numerous challenges.
However, Minister Nuetah has emphasized that the plan is expected to address the constraints, which include limited access to finance, the lack of farm mechanization, poor agricultural extension which are very much critical to address for the improvement of agriculture and the fisheries sectors.
Dr. Nuetah said as head of the government’s ministry responsible for agriculture, he remains committed to working with all in making the plan a reality.
“As the head of the government institution overseeing this program, I firmly pledge to work with all stakeholders — private-sector actors, development partners, our national legislature, and other line ministries and agencies — to mobilize the resources needed for the implementation of this AGENDA,” he mentioned.
He also emphasized the need for appropriate communication strategy in getting everyone informed of the plan, underscoring the role of the Liberian media as being very much critical toward the process.
According to him, to attract more private investments, the government will use the plan to establish what he considered as the ‘Agriculture Enterprise Development Bank.
He also made mention of the establishment of farm mechanization hubs at regional centers.
The minister mentioned that priority for the plan is going to cause the country to reduce rice importation, reduce post-harvest losses and to improve the export earnings of the country through marine fisheries and the tree crops sub sectors and other sectors.
