By: Stephen G. Fellajuah
In an effort to sustain Liberia in feeding herself, a non-governmental agriculture-based organization, Agro Tech Liberia, have launched a campaign for 2022 campaign referred to as ‘Let’s Feed Us.’ The campaign, according to Executive Director of the organization, is to create awareness across the country in order to educate Liberians on how they can all help in developing the agriculture sector of the country.
Speaking at the launch, Johnathan S. Stewart disclosed that with the growing population of the country, it will be terrible for the Liberia in terms of food importation if nothing is done to produce more food locally before 2050.
Agro Tech, which Liberia’s number one Youth in Agriculture Incubation Center launched the program Tuesday, January 03, 2022.
Under the project, Stewart said Agro Tech will conduct educative and motivational sessions for students and parents across Montserrado and its environs.
He said the program will provide data driven analysis of the agriculture sector and make achievable recommendations to national government and other international partners through the Ministry of Agricultural of the republic of Liberia.
Mr. Stewart at the same time disclosed that they will highlight food security issues for government policy intervention.
He believes that at the end of the project many youth perception of agriculture enhanced will increased public policy and programs for the agriculture sector, direct investment in the sector will increase and as well local food production and youth participation in agriculture and agribusiness will increase.
However, Mr. Stewart is calling on the government and partners to help add value to the sector in order to erase the wrong perception among the young people that agriculture is a dirty career, that the practice belong to poor people and in fact it is old fashion and cheap.
The Agro Tech boss also believes if values are added to agriculture and more money is invested, it will draw the focus of many young people, adding that the lack of value addition is one of the major reasons for low processing initiatives in the country.
He cited high rate rural poverty (poor livelihood for farmers, low income level) among some of the reasons for poor and low production in the sector.
He implore the government to introduce what he calls “climate smart agriculture program” saying that farmers have limited ideas on adaptation and mitigation.
“Our independence is threatened when we cannot feed ourselves; let’s be independent by growing food to feed ourselves,” he stressed, saying the youth are the future for global food security and that they need to be empowered.
He added that agriculture as a business is the concept that creates wealth and take people from poverty to prosperity. “Grow to sell and not just to eat, Mr. President, please look at the agriculture sector, it needs your interventions; we make foreign farmers richer by sending millions to them for food annually,” he added.
He maintained that it is time for the nation to keep its money here by growing food for ourselves.
According to him, “The youths are the future for global food security, let’s empower them, create an office at the Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate programs for young farmers and youth in agribusiness; this will help attract more youth to the agriculture sector,”
He maintained that if we cannot feed 4.5 million people now how we can feed 9 million people by 2050. “If you cannot get the job you are waiting for, you can create the job through agriculture and agribusiness- let employ ourselves, there is a need for the Ministry of Education to introduce agriculture and school garden program at all primary and secondary schools across Liberia.”
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