SUAKOKO, Bong County — Liberia’s efforts to revive its indigenous coffee industry received a major boost Wednesday as the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) joined government officials, development partners and agricultural stakeholders at the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) for the handover of improved seeds and agricultural equipment under the European Union-supported Seeds4Liberia Project.
By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com
The ceremony brought together LACRA’s Director General Christopher D. Sankolo and Deputy Director General for Operations and Technical Services Alpha K. Gongolee, alongside representatives of international agricultural organizations and other government institutions involved in strengthening Liberia’s agricultural sector.
The Seeds4Liberia Project is designed to address some of the longstanding challenges facing the country’s agricultural sector by strengthening national seed systems, increasing access to quality planting materials and supporting agricultural value chains capable of improving productivity and farmers’ incomes.
Funded by the European Union and implemented through a partnership involving AfricaRice, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), WorldFish and Liberian government institutions, the initiative focuses on five strategic areas — rice, cassava, coffee, soybean and aquaculture.
For LACRA, however, the coffee component has emerged as an important opportunity to restore one of Liberia’s historically significant agricultural commodities, particularly through the promotion of Coffee Liberica, a variety native to Liberia that is attracting increased international interest.
LACRA and IITA have so far supported the distribution of more than 600,000 Coffee Liberica seedlings to farmers in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Montserrado and Bomi counties, with the broader production effort approaching 700,000 seedlings when seedlings produced directly by LACRA are included.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sankolo called on Liberian farmers to view Coffee Liberica not simply as an agricultural crop but as a potential source of long-term economic empowerment.
He said the growing international demand for Coffee Liberica presents Liberia with an opportunity to build a stronger domestic coffee industry, increase household incomes and create economic opportunities in rural communities.
Sankolo urged farmers to take advantage of the planting materials and technical support being provided through the project, stressing that increased domestic production will be necessary if Liberia is to benefit substantially from the emerging international market for the country’s indigenous coffee variety.
He said: “Liberians should grow Coffee Liberica because it has the potential to transform livelihoods and reduce poverty across many households. The world is demanding Coffee Liberica, and we must increase our production, improve quality and take advantage of this growing market before the opportunity passes us by.”
The LACRA chief said the authority would continue working with IITA and other development partners to ensure that farmers receive not only seedlings but also the technical knowledge required to establish productive and sustainable coffee farms.
He said the success of the coffee initiative will depend on maintaining strong collaboration among government agencies, development partners, researchers, extension workers and farmers, particularly as Liberia seeks to move from distributing seedlings to building a commercially viable coffee value chain.
“Our responsibility at LACRA is not simply to distribute planting materials; we must help build a coffee value chain that can serve farmers, processors, traders and the international market. If we remain committed to quality, farmer training and sustained technical support, Coffee Liberica can become an important pillar of Liberia’s agricultural transformation,” Sankolo added.
Deputy Director General Alpha K. Gongolee, who serves as LACRA’s Chief Technical Focal Person for the Seeds4Liberia Project, was also recognized during the ceremony for his technical leadership in establishing coffee nurseries and coordinating the distribution of seedlings across the project’s target counties.
The recognition was presented by Dr. Ranjana Bhattacharjee, IITA Coffee Lead for the Seeds4Liberia Project, highlighting Gongolee’s role in coordinating LACRA’s technical contribution to the coffee component.
Speaking after the ceremony, Gongolee credited the achievement to institutional cooperation and said the progress recorded under the initiative would not have been possible without the support of LACRA leadership, IITA, farmers and other development partners.
He specifically expressed appreciation to Director General Sankolo for entrusting him with the technical coordination of LACRA’s participation in the project, saying the confidence placed in him created an opportunity to contribute directly to the revival of Liberia’s coffee sector.
He said: “I am grateful to Director General Christopher D. Sankolo for the trust and confidence he has placed in me to coordinate LACRA’s technical contribution to this important initiative. This recognition belongs to a team of people who worked together, and it demonstrates what can happen when LACRA, IITA, farmers and development partners combine their expertise around a common agricultural goal.”
Gongolee disclosed that the coffee seedling production effort has expanded considerably since the beginning of the initiative. He said IITA initially produced and supplied approximately 400,000 seedlings, while LACRA subsequently complemented that effort by producing an additional 300,000 seedlings.
That combined production, he explained, brings the number of Coffee Liberica seedlings produced and distributed through the initiative to nearly 700,000, representing one of the most significant coordinated efforts in recent years to rebuild Liberia’s indigenous coffee industry.
The Deputy Director General said the distribution of seedlings is only the beginning of the process, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that farmers receive continued technical assistance as the plants mature.
He said LACRA’s technical teams must continue monitoring farms, supporting farmers with appropriate agronomic practices and helping create conditions that will allow the seedlings to develop into productive coffee farms.
“Producing and distributing seedlings is an important milestone, but our real measure of success will be what happens after those seedlings reach the farmers. We have to ensure that farmers know how to establish, maintain and manage their coffee farms so that these plants can eventually produce quality Coffee Liberica for both domestic consumption and the international market,” he added.
The Seeds4Liberia Project is expected to contribute to Liberia’s broader efforts to strengthen food security, reduce dependence on imported agricultural commodities and create sustainable income opportunities for rural households.
Beyond coffee, the project’s support for rice, cassava, soybean and aquaculture is intended to strengthen several agricultural value chains considered critical to Liberia’s food and economic security.
The initiative also reflects growing efforts by the Government of Liberia and its international partners to improve the country’s seed systems, particularly by making quality planting materials more accessible to farmers.
