Sallu Swaray
3 November 2009
District # 2 Representative of Bomi County, Haja Fata Siryon has proposed a National Agriculture Council for Liberian Farmers in the Country which will coordinate and liaise with farmers and the Agriculture Ministry for the production of seed rice.
Speaking over the weekend at the graduation program of the Sean Devereux Education for Women Empowerment Program held in Folley Town, Dewon District, Rep. Siryon said, local farmers must try to put a national agriculture council together that will be responsible to report directly to the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to her, when the National Agriculture Council is formed, it will help to alleviate the many problems farmers in the country are faced with, placing major on emphases on seed rice shortage, a factor which hinders many farmers in the country especially during the farming season.
She indicated that if the council is established, it will be charged with the responsibility to take care of rural areas, and that all reports emanating from there will come directly to the Ministry of Agriculture and the problems of seed rice shortage, funds for farmers, and other farming related matters from the hinterland will be handled by the proposed body. The council will also be charged with the obligation to share ideas on farming related issues and transmit such information to the Ministry of Agriculture.
"In the farming season, there is a time to plant rice and also a period allocated for harvest. In Liberia we have certain time for cassava and other crops to plant and must meet the time underscored in order for the seeds to grow and be able to harvest it on time, thereby placing farmers in the rightful position to gain from their crops" she narrated.
She pointed out that she does not want to see the efforts of farmers to go in vain, because, according to her, every year thousands of seed rice is planted and so many other vegetable crops including peppers, tomatoes, cassava and other high protein food carry a lot of resources from farmers.
The district #2 representatives also stressed that if this kind of mechanism is put in place to have a council that will be between farmers and the Agriculture Ministry, their efforts as farmers will not go in vain, but if such body was not put in place, she suspects that every year farmers will come back to square one.
"If we do not put in such mechanisms, you will not get the seed rice and even if you pay money for it, the person from whom the seed rice will be purchased may not tell you that the seed rice has problem or whether it has been with him or her for three to four years. When the council is been put in place, they are going to make sure to examine the rice before bringing it to you for buying" she assured farmers.
Mrs. Siryon used the occasion to appeled to donors and the international community to continue to assist farmers in Suehn Mecca and Dewein Districts, adding that the two districts are lacking behind in terms of assistance in Education, Food Production and other Developmental activities.
She urged citizens in the two districts who do not have the means of going to higher institutions of learning but are willing to acquire knowledge, to venture in every aspect of trade including farming and agriculture. At the same time, Rep. Siryon has donated equipments valued at (LD100, 00) to 45 women who graduated in various disciplines at the Sean Deveux Education Women Empowerment Program as a means of supporting women who want to engage in meaningful agriculture ventures in their district.
The donated items which included fifty shovels, fifty rain boots and fifty cutlasses is her own way of identifying with the women of Folley Town, specifically Dewein District to help them engage in agriculture to be able to grow their own food in the area.
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