Liberia Secures Over $5m From AfDB To Fund Food Production Programme

Posted by Eric Ojo Business News, Latest Headlines Friday, November 25th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Liberia has secured $5.12 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group for the implementation of for the Emergency Food Production Programme in the country.

This paves the way for the government to support farmers as they increase climate resilient food production and mitigate the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The funding which was approved by the AfDB, includes a grant of $2.28 million and a loan of $2.84 million from its Transition Support Facility.

The African Emergency Food Production Facility will provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds. It will increase access to agricultural fertilizers and enable them to rapidly produce 38 million tons of food – a $12 billion increase in food production in just two years.

Agriculture is a major part of Liberia’s economy. It contributes about 26 percent to GDP. The country’s major crops are rubber, rice, cassava, bananas and palm oil, with cassava and rice being the primary staple food crops.

Overall agricultural productivity, however, is low. This is because of such factors as weak basic infrastructure, including farm equipment and inadequate farm-to-market roads. There is also limited application of fertilizers and pesticides, and inadequate food storage capacity.

Moreover, the civil conflict the country experienced between 1989 and 2003 and the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 compounded challenges even further.

Nearly 50 percent of Liberia’s population is considered food insecure, and childhood malnutrition is persistent. Currently, 35 percent of children under 5 are stunted and 15 percent of these children are underweight.

The food production program in Liberia is part of sector budget support under the African Development Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF).
This facility is designed to increase climate resilient food production for Africa’s farmers in the wake of such global shocks as the war in Ukraine and rising fuel and fertilizer prices.

The food Programme in Liberia which will be implemented from 2022 to 2024, will enable the government to provide direct smart subsidies (that create incentives for private sector investment in the inputs market without distorting the market), to vulnerable farmers.

The financing will also enable the government to facilitate farmers’ access to improved seeds and fertilizers.
While applauding the programme, the AfDB’s country manager for Liberia, Benedict Kanu said:

“We welcome this timely and highly awaited approval, which will improve food and nutrition security in Liberia and the regulatory environment for climate-smart agriculture.

“With healthy Liberians being arguably the greatest asset the country can have, hardly any other priority could be more pressing than addressing food insecurity to safeguard the calorie and nutrition needs of Liberians and protecting their human development”, he added.

Meanwhile, the African Emergency Food Production Facility has already benefitted 26 countries in Africa with 26 programs worth $1.257 billion.