LIBERIA COUNTRY REPORT CARD Group 2 Regional NRDS Workshop AfricaRice Center – Cotonou, Benin July 5-9, 2010 By J.Q. Subah, M. Zinnah & S. Subah

BACKGROUND Liberia has a population of 3.5 million Total land area is about 43,000 square miles Rice is a strategic and food security crop in Liberia. It is the staple food for most Liberians. It is produced by 71% of the estimated 400,000 farm families, using traditional slash and burn shifting cultivation.

STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS “Policy Intent Statement” (2006): Outlined policy options for consideration. Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (2006): Laid foundation for rehabilitation of agriculture sector. Comprehensive Assessment of the Agriculture Sector in Liberia (CAAS-LIB) (2007): Comprehensive assessment of the agricultural sector and identified priority programs for development. Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) (2008): Acknowledges and articulates the country’s aspiration for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal #1: Halving of hunger and extreme poverty by 2015. Agriculture is the engine of growth.

STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS (Cont’d) Food and Agriculture Policy Strategy (FAPS) (2008): Developed within the context of the PRS, it accentuates policies and associated strategies to harness and utilize the potentials of the large number of smallholder farmers in the agriculture sector. Draft Liberia National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS) (March 2009): Outlines Government’s rice development strategy up to 2018.

STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS (Cont’d) Liberia Agriculture Sector Investment Project (LASIP) (2009): Developed within the context CAADP), it identifies four major pillars for investment in the sector: (1) Food and nutrition security, (2) Competitive value chains and market linkages, (3) Institutional Capacity Development, and (4) Land and water development. Endorsed at ECOWAS/CAADP Business Meeting in Dakar, Senegal in June 2010.

Rice Production Map of Liberia LEGEND Leading Rice Producing Medium Rice Producing BOMI BONG GRAND BASSA GRAND CAPE MOUNT GRAND GEDEH GRAND KRU LOFA MARGIBI MARYLAND MONTSERRADO NIMBA RIVERCESS SINOE RIVER GEE GBARPOLU Guinea Cote d'Ivoire Sierra Leone Unclassified Atlantic Ocean

MAIN RICE ECOLOGIES Upland ecology: Comprising about 400,000 small- holder farm families constitutes the major mode of rice production. Lowland ecology: Mainly rain-fed; about 2% utilization; with less than 1% irrigated.

Production Targets (Rainfed Upland) Year Area (ha) Yield (tons/ha)* Production (tons) 2009 190,000 0.9 170,000 2010 0.95 180,500 2011 2012 1 2013 2014 2015 2016 1.2 228,000 2017 2018 * Yields conservative, but expected to increase (probably double) with introduction of improved varieties and management.

Production Targets (Rainfed Lowland) Year Area (ha) Yield (tons/ha) Production (tons) 2009 20,000 1.2 24,000 2010 1.4 30,000 2011 1.5 36,000 2012 26,000 1.6 41,000 2013 27,000 43,000 2014 28,000 47,000 2015 29,000 1.7 49,000 2016 51,000 2017 52,000 2018 32,000 54,000

Production Targets (Irrigated Lowland, Double Crop) Year Area (ha) Yield (tons/ha) Production (tons) 2009 2,000 2 8,000 2010 5,000 2.1 21,000 2011 6,000 2.3 27,600 2012 7,000 2.5 43,750 2013 2.75 44,000 2014 3 48,000 2015 9,000 3.5 63,000 2016 2017 10,000 70,000 2018 * Yields conservative, but expected to increase with introduction of improved varieties and management.

Capacity Development Targets (Research Specialists) Year Total Required Ph.D. (Rice Specialist) M.Sc. (Rice Water Specialist) 2008 2 2009 5 1 4 2010 2011 7 6 2012 2013 10 8 2014 2015 2016 2017 12 2018 TOTAL 90 16 74

Capacity Development Targets (Research Assistants/Technicians) Year Total Required Water Engineering Specialist (B.Sc./Assoc. Degree) Rice Specialist (B.Sc./Assoc. Degree) 2008 2009 6 1 5 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Total 60 10 50

Capacity Development Targets (Extension Workers) Year Total Required Lowland Dev./Water Mgnt. Rice Specialists 2008 2009 10 5 2010 2011 2012 2013 15 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Total 130 50 80

Priority Sub-Sectors Human resource capacity development Seed & germplasm improvement Productivity & quality improvement Value addition/market access Land development, irrigation & water management Fertilizer & other agro inputs

Partners Other ministries/agencies, training & research institutions, NGOs, private sector &civil society – broad-based consensus on priority setting for the agric sector, especially rice sub-sector within the context of LASIP. JICA - emergency rice initiative & rice data collection USAID - seed improvement, value chain, private sector development, infrastructure & institution capacity building EU – agribusiness, private sector development, microfinance FAO - seed sector development & seed multiplication GTZ - irrigation infrastructure & seed lab development IRRI - germplasm restoration AfricaRice Center - germplasm restoration, varietal evaluation and emergency rice initiative & capacity building AfDB - rice value chain, seed sector development, irrigation infrastructure & capacity building IFAD - rice value chain & seed sector development World Bank - development of MRU regional food security program & institution capacity building SIDA, DANIDA, UK, etc.

Governance & M&E of NRDS No formal governance & M&E system is currently in place for the NRDS. Efforts are being made to put into place a formal system. Meanwhile, the following interim governance structure is currently in place: MINISTER National Seed Committee Technical Task Force Stakeholders

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!