Liberia: WFP-Supported Smallholder Rice-Producer Project

Rice

With funding from the Government of Japan, the project titled, "Community based sustainable food security of smallholder rice producer farmers in target countries of West Africa" is jointly implemented by the World Food Programme and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in Liberia's central region of Bong County.

According to the preliminary outcome of an assessment mission conducted in Liberia early February by the WFP Project's regional office in Dakar, Senegal, "the project has progressed well and the project team being very instrumental in its supporting the deliverables," said the Regional Project Coordinator for West Africa, Mio Nozoe.

Speaking during a debriefing meeting with WFP's Country Director Mr. Bievenu Djossa and WFP staff in Monrovia, Mrs. Nozoe expressed gratitude to the WFP and MOA field staff: "Thank you and your team for a good job in the field. I am impressed over what we have achieved at this stage. Almost 100% of success was achieved with 104 hectares cultivated out of 106 hectares developed to date," Mrs. Nozoe said.

She also expressed admiration for the deep interest the farmers themselves, mainly women, have created in the project as indicated by their involvement and expression of satisfaction during our visit.

The WFP Regional Director requested WFP-Liberia to provide greater support to the farmers in the areas of market access and linkages through the Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative "because many farmers have produced a lot of rice but don't know what to do with it."

The Regional project technical advisor and member of the assessment mission, Bakalilou Diaby, underscored the main focus points of the project in 2017.

"This year the project's focus is on capacity enhancement, strengthening farmer organizations' leadership and structures, supporting communities in terms of market and linkages with private sector (like LADA), and supporting them scale up from piloting to sustainability stage." Diaby said.

WFP's Representative and Country Director, Mr. Bienvenu Djossa, reiterated the Organization's commitment to fighting hunger in Liberia with support of development partners like the Government of Japan.

"We see this project as critical in our drive against hunger and are leaving no stone unturned in providing the required support to farmers. I am pleased over your finding that the project is doing well. We will also support standardization of rice varieties, ensure that adequate support is provided to genuine farmer groups, and increase capacity strengthening," Djossa said.

The Project is a trust fund pilot financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of the Government of Japan. It is an agriculture and capacity strengthening project implemented as an MOA/WFP-MAFF joint project, aiming to support national strategies, fighting poverty and food insecurity through rice production.

The project is being implemented in Liberia and Sierra Leone, countries that once produced large quantities of rice, but where paddy fields have been abandoned and dilapidated due to the prolonged displacement of farmers during the protracted civil wars. Project duration is four years (2014-2017) during which 106 hectares of unproductive lowlands are to be developed or rehabilitated and farmers trained in new rice production techniques.