Liberia Government (Monrovia)
10 November 2009
President Ellen Johnson has urged Liberians to utilize vacant land in their surroundings to plant rice, fruits, vegetables and other crops for food self-sufficiency. "Everyone should use spare land to plant something," the President declared Tuesday as she walked from her Residence to cut the first panicles of rice that had been growing in a plot adjoining her residence in Sinkor, on the outskirts of Monrovia.
Dressed in blue jeans, a red T-shirt, a red, white and blue cap and rain boots, the President was joined by some 50 persons, mostly women, who worked with great speed and expertise.
Three groups of women were mobilized for the harvest: traditional women; women from the community; and 10 female students from the University of Liberia's Agriculture Women Cooperative, based at Fendell, which also works in collaboration with rural women in that area.
Questioned by reporters about the size of the rice farm, the President clarified that she had only made good use of an empty lot near her home, and that she has a farm in Bomi County where a variety of crops are grown.
Representing the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) were: Mr. Richelieu Mitchell, Acting Deputy Minister for the Department of Regional Development, Research and Extension; Mr. Paul Jallah, Director of Extension; Mr. Mulbah Bryant, County Agricultural Coordinator for Montserrado County; Mr. G. Momoh Tulay, Registrar General of the Cooperative Development Agency; and others.
Commenting on the project, Acting Deputy Minister Mitchell observed that if owners of swampland properties could be encouraged to use such land for agriculture, there would be enough land to feed the population of the area with rice.
President Johnson Sirleaf took advantage of a vacant lot adjoining her property to plant Narica L19 (lowland or swamp) rice on 4 ½ plots measuring 20 x 20 meters. The rice being harvested Tuesday was transplanted from a nursery on 16 July. It is expected to yield more than 1,900 pounds of rice. After the harvest, the land will be used to plant vegetables, followed by more rice in March and again in June/July.
Bundles of rice harvested have been placed on a nearby scaffold for the initial one-week drying period. The rice will then be transferred to a permanent drying slab at the former Liberia Sugar Company site in Gardnersville. When thoroughly dried, the rice will be milled and bagged, to be served later on the President's table.
Rice from the next harvest will be used as seeds and distributed to other farmers.
Tuesday's harvest on the pilot rice project is the second by the President since it was introduced more than two years ago with the assistance of Chinese agricultural experts.
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