The apparent lack of animal feed producers in Liberia has posed a serious challenge to farmers who raise animals, run piggeries, and raise poultry, among other activities.
The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) continues to intervene through the Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP), which gives grants to boost value chains in rice, oil palm, horticulture (growing plants), animal rearing, and poultry farming to encourage increased agricultural productivity and commercialization.
However, farmers, especially those rearing animals or running poultry, say one of their major challenges is the lack of anyone or a factory that produces animal feed.
Additionally, they must order animal medications from other countries, such as the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and sometimes the United States, each time they want to treat an ailing animal.
Securing animal feed and medication from foreign countries is still costly for local farmers, they told journalists during a recent tour.
Some of the worst affected farmers are those living with disabilities, who have complained about their challenges in paying workers while also struggling to secure food for their animals.
Representing a farming group with about 300 members living with disabilities in Brewerville, Montserrado County, Ms. Bendu Murvee explained that feeding their pigs continues to be difficult for them.
"This pig feeding business [is] giving us [a] hard time because ... to get the food it's not easy," said Madam Murvee on Tuesday, 18 June 2024.
Funds generated from the sale of pigs are used to pay workers at the piggery and buy animal feed, she disclosed. Once they are out of money, she lamented that the pigs do not eat.
"So we need food for the pigs. The food business [is] giving us [a] hard time," she noted. To address transportation, animal feed, and water issues, Bendu pleaded with the government and donors who are helping local farmers to provide them with at least a pickup to get their pig food and build a hand pump.
She also pleaded for empowerment and farming tools. Meanwhile, Madam Murvee thanked the MoA and RETRAP for doing well for local farmers, especially persons living with disabilities.
In addition to rearing pigs, she said they also plant different kinds of edible leaves, including potato greens, cabbage greens, and plantain.
She said the MoA gave them the pigs they are rearing, as well as food and medicines, while UNICEF constructed the building in which the pigs are being raised.
In Careysburg, Montserrado County, Madam Elizabeth K. Mulbah told journalists that a major challenge is the lack of investment in the production of animal feed to supply local animal farmers in Liberia.
She runs a farm with around 65 pigs, which could increase to 70 after some of them gave birth recently.
"Sometimes you can access the feed, but you don't have the rightful feed to make your animal grow the time they're supposed to grow," said Madam Mulbah.
She explained that pigs should take a maximum of six months to grow and be marketable, but the lack of the rightful feed delays their growth by over a year.
"I think we haven't had anybody who had gone into that business to say I am to take the time to produce feed for people that are into this animal raising," she said.
She suggested that the MoA hire university students as extension workers and establish an animal feed-producing factory to supply farmers.
However, she applauded the MoA and RETRAP for a grant of US$83,500 in phases, which enabled her to buy animal feed, dig a well, and facilitate the construction of a water tower and a facility that will host her animals.
Melvin David manages the A.W. Family farm in Bomi County, which includes a piggery and poultry and rears goats, cows, sheep, and dogs.
Through the MoA's intervention, David said a gigantic building was constructed for farming purposes on his farm, a truck was provided, and processing machines were also provided from a grant of US$152,000.
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"Since we got the grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, there's been a lot of improvement. As I speak, this farm is the only farm in Liberia that is about to start producing the egg tray," he said.
David said animal feed and medicines remain a challenge for his farm. He noted that they must order medication from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, or America to get the treatment needed for a sick animal on their farm. Mr. Samuel Johnson, Farm Manager of Wonyea Agro Inc., in Kpaqulleh Township, Bentol, Montserrado County, explained that his farm struggled before RETRAP's intervention with a matching grant of US$250,000.
Through the grant, he now owns a pickup truck to run his farming operations. New buildings have been constructed to host close to 60 pigs, and there's water access on the farm. Machines were made available. Upon completing the ongoing construction on his farm, David said they would need more pigs to meet their plan to rear up to a thousand pigs.
He also envisions producing animal feed with the intervention of RETRAP and MoA.
