Abidjan, 26th Jan, 2022 (AIP)- Liberian leader George Weah has said agricultural productivity will be his administration’s top priority, reports the Liberian News Agency (LINA)

According to the Liberian President, private sector interest and investment in agriculture has increased sharply, especially after the holding of the National Agricultural Fair in February 2021.

This fair, he said, highlighted Liberian agricultural productivity and, while highlighting the challenges faced by producers and agribusinesses, it also showcased the many opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness. -industry.

To show the importance that his government attaches to this sector, he said that the Ministry of Agriculture has developed and signed, with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, new key projects worth more than US$73 million and that the World Bank’s Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP), which aims to scale up the ongoing Smallholder Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project, STAR -P, was developed for a total value of 55 million US dollars.

RETRAP will oversee the paving of the road from Tappita in Nimba County to Toe Town in Grand Gedeh County, to complete a vital part of the Ganta-Harper Highway which is already underway and will inject resources into areas of the rubber, cassava, poultry and pigsty to complement other projects in rice, oil palm and vegetables, he pointed out.

“I can proudly report to you that the number of commercial farms and agribusinesses has increased dramatically from 77 in 2021 to 164 in 2022, while there are now agricultural machinery dealerships, with spare parts and workshops,” said President Weah.

He added that his government’s interventions had led to an increase in the area planted in most crops, especially for staples such as rice, cassava, oil palm and vegetables, indicating that at As the country entered the harvest season towards the end of the year, bumper crops are reaching rural and urban markets thanks to the improved logistics and supporting infrastructure that the government has provided for agriculture.

He further noted that warehouses dedicated to cocoa farmers have been built or rehabilitated in Nimba, Lofa and Bong counties; while palm oil processing plants were built in Grand Bassa, Bong and Lofa counties and rice processing plants in Lofa county were finalized in time to process the massive harvests from the farms. enlarged.

President Weah pointed out that amid the impact of COVID-19 which has induced the lockdown and closure of several banks in rural areas, the Rural Community Finance Project implemented in collaboration with the Central Bank of Liberia and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, successfully operationalized eleven rural community finance institutions.

He was speaking Monday, January 24, 2022 during his 5th annual Liberian Nation Address in Monrovia.

Source: Agence Ivoirienne de Presse