Sustainable Tree Crops Program - Liberia
Project Dates: 2006-2011
Country: Liberia
Funders: U.S. Agency for International Development, World Cocoa Foundation and global cocoa industry (through regional core program support), U.S. Department of Agriculture (through ACDI/VOCA) and World Bank (ended in 2009)
Implementers: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (manager, production, marketing, policy); SOCODEVI (cooperative development); University of Tennessee (marketing)
Overview
At the launch of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) in Liberia in 2006, national production averaged between 3,000 and 5,000 metric tons of cocoa per year. Today, production averages 9,000 metric tons per year. Factors contributing to this increase in production include farmer training in production practices, farmer organization strengthening, and rehabilitation of older, less productive farms. Production has the potential to increase further with use of improved hybrid planting materials and continued replanting and rehabilitation efforts. STCP is active in the three main cocoa-producing counties of Liberia – Bong, Lofa and Nimba.
Program Objectives:
- Implement technical packages to raise productivity and product quality
- Strengthen community groups to interface with markets, enhance democracy and ensure sustainability
- Develop efficient marketing options associated with relevant information systems
- Engage public and private stakeholders to address policy and institutional constraints
Progress to Date:
- 5,042 farmers trained through Farmer Field Schools. Farmers received training on integrated crop and pest management, quality improvement, HIV/AIDS awareness, and farm safety. An additional 10,203 farmers were reached indirectly through farmer-to-farmer diffusion.
- Access to planting material improved. Collaboration with Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA) in Côte d’Ivoire and the Ghana Cocoa Board is improving farmer access to planting material. A seed garden is being established at the Central Agricultural Research Institute and 55 nurseries are being established in communities in Bong and Nimba counties where Farmer Field Schools are taking place.
- 61 Farmer Field School groups organized into farmer organizations. The groups began engaging in group sales activities and are in the process of regrouping into six larger organizations at the district, rather than community, level. Additionally, STCP has worked with 11 cooperatives to strengthen their financial, management and recruiting capacity.
- Policy dialogue – extension and cooperative development. STCP Liberia hosted several roundtables on extension options to support the Ministry of Agriculture as it develops extension policy and strategy. Roundtables and workshops were also held on topics related to the reestablishment of the Cooperative Development Agency, and the review and strengthening of cooperative laws. STCP continues to engage in dialogue with the Cooperative Development Agency and the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation on cocoa pricing and marketing information systems development and dissemination.
- Roundtables on Liberian cocoa sector held. A May 2006 roundtable identified action points to contribute to the development of the cocoa sector and promote it as an engine for poverty alleviation, job creation and overall economic and social development. A follow-up roundtable was held in 2007 focusing on the cash crops sector, including tree crops, and their role in food security. Participants at both roundtables included representatives from the local public and private sectors, as well as regional and international experts.
Success Story: Liberian Grandmother is a Giant in Farmer Field Schools
Success Story: Communities Establishing Self-Supported Farmer Training
Success Story: Group Selling Arrangement Quadruples Family Income
Success Story: Pruning is One Farmer's Key to Success
Success Story: New Hybrid Cocoa Brings Smiles to Liberian Cocoa Farmers