19 February 2008
Liberia has received $1.5m from the Global Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety. The provision of the fund was made possible through the special contribution of the Italian government's Directorate General for Italian Development Cooperation.
Liberia's Agriculture Minister, Dr. J. Chris Toe, said the three-year Food Security Through Commercialization of Agriculture project is part of a sub-regional initiative to support modern, competitive and commercially vibrant agricultural sectors.
He said emphasis is on capacity building within farmer-based organizations to increase production and value addition and improve marketing.
Dr. Toe signed the agreement on February 13, 2008 in Rome, Italy while attending the 31st session of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The project will be implemented in Nimba, Maryland and Grand Kru counties. It will target smallholder farmers and processors and will also support county level associations and Ministry of Agriculture extension staff in the concerned counties.
On behalf of the government and people of Liberia, Dr. Toe thanked the Italian government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for this assistance.
He indicated that it will complement the agriculture and infrastructure development projects of the World Bank that will soon commence in Lofa and Bong counties.
He also stated that the projects will greatly enhance government's efforts to make agricultural value chains competitive, efficient and sustainable, improve food security and nutrition, and strengthen human and institutional capacities.
These are three strategic objectives of Government that will be pursued during the Poverty Reduction Strategy period of 2008 - 2011.
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