What can be described as the largest rice seed distribution exercise in recent times in Liberia ended in June with 101,400 farming families throughout the country receiving 2,608 tonnes of high yielding seeds.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) carried out the operation in collaboration with other UN and NGO partners with funds provided by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) of the United Nations.
Prior to the launch of the 2007/2008 planting season, FAO in collaboration with the ministry made an appeal for emergency assistance to cater for war-affected farmers, in particular returnees and those who did not receive rice seeds during the last season and were in desperate need. About 140,000 farming families were identified as top priority for emergency assistance nation-wide.
FAO Resident Representative in Liberia, Dr. Winfred Hammond, expressed the hope that in the ensuing year, the need for rice seeds would have been reduced by at least 50 percent and farmers would be in a better position to produce their own seeds.
Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Chris Toe said, "We need to diversify our eating habits in order to reduce the reliance on rice. We need to grow what we eat and eat what we grow, meaning our eddoes, cassava, plantain, yams are all food crops that we can produce to eat and sell the surpluses to earn income."
Apart from providing the rice seeds, FAO in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture organized two regional seed multiplication training workshops for lead farmers and agriculture technicians. More than 80 lead farmers and selected agriculture technicians of the agriculture ministry attended the workshops. They focused on building their capacities to improve the sustainability of local rice production and encourage the emergence of localized seed supply networks.
The Ministry of Agriculture and FAO are currently supporting 60 seed multiplication sites throughout the country with a total area of 2,500 acres and 7,300 participating farmers.
The Inquirer
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