Agriculture Minister Florence Chenoweth Thursday has disclosed that post war Liberia can no longer import rice seed for agricultural purposes because the country has it in abundance.

Minister Chenoweth said Liberia has made considerable progress in seed rice multiplication and production over the years with unflinching support from Japan, through its food aid program to the country. “Liberian is now sufficient in seed rice,” Chenoweth said last Thursday when Japan handed over 10,000 metric tons of rice to Liberia.

Japan has been providing food aid to Liberia for the last three years. The Commerce Ministry monetizes the food aid and the fund deposited in a joint Liberia-Japan Counterpart Fund and used to support development projects at the Liberian government’s choosing.

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The Central Bank of Liberia has officially launched its Agricultural Stimulus Initiative on the Cuttington University Campus in Suakoko, Bong County.

A farmer field school in Sanoyea Town, Bong County, Liberia. Photo Credit: ACDI/VOCA.

The CBL Stimulus initiative contains 7.5 million US Dollar support to Liberian farmers in the Agriculture and Fisheries sectors of the country. Launching the scheme, the Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, Dr. Mills Jones said the agriculture stimulus initiative was part of many initiatives undertaken by the bank to help Liberian small and medium enterprises with the intention of improving economic growth, as well as improving the lives of ordinary Liberians.

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A two-day international conference towards a sustainable Tuna Fishery in the Coastal States of the West African Sub Region on Thursday, November 1, 2012 got underway at the Golden Gate Hotel in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.

The conference seeks to improve understanding and planning of the management of tuna resources in the region, and begin process towards a regional approach in negotiation the conditions of access for tuna purse seine vessels wishing to fish in Liberia, Sierra Leone and the wider region. Speaking at the start of the two-day conference, the Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Charles McClain said tuna represents both an incredible opportunity, and a difficult challenge to the sub region.

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The Government of Liberia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) yesterday signed a Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) to develop a community support model of empowering women fisher-folks by building confidence as entrepreneurs in leadership and as managers.

Agriculture Minister Florence Chenoweth, who signed for Liberian Government, recalled FAO’s long-standing technical support to the Government in funding projects that created better environment for communities, provided employment opportunities for rural dwellers, and enhanced Liberia’s food security drive.

A release quoted FAO’s Country Representative Jean-Alexandre Sacglia as expressing optimism that the project will lead to productivity and growth among the population. He stressed FAO’s strong commitment to supporting community-based projects that are sustainable and viable in the long run.

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Monrovia — The Liberian government has announced that it is in the final stages of securing a U.S. $1.6 billion Indonesian investment in palm oil production which is expected to create 35,000 jobs.

Richard Tolbert, chairman of the country’s National Investment Commission, told AllAfrica in an interview that the investment, in south-eastern Liberia, will give a major boost to the country’s post-conflict economy. “The government has about 33,000 persons on its payroll,” he said. “Here we have one company that will provide jobs for about 35,000 persons. These jobs, I believe, will create livelihoods for about 300,000 to 400,000 people.”

The investment deal is with Golden VerOleum, a company headquartered in Indonesia which is a subsidiary of Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), one of the world’s leaders in palm oil production.

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