-- Expresses government's commitment to revamp poultry sector
To assess the progress and challenges within the local poultry industry of Liberia, Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah recently toured the facility of the Liberian American Poultry Farm in Bomi County, a major farm, and expressed the Liberian government's commitment to revamping poultry production, amidst the challenges.
The visit occurred during the second leg of the minister Nuetah's recent nationwide tour which took him to several cooperatives and private farms in Bomi and Gbarpolu counties.
The tour demonstrates the Liberian government's unwavering commitment to support the farmers to increase productivity.
Upon touring the facility, Nuetah, in a conversation with the management, said he was impressed by the investment because, according to him, it has created jobs for the citizens, while also contributing to food security.
"I am impressed that this facility has created employment for you young people. The government allows the investment so that you can care for your families," he briefly informed some of the workers.
The Liberian American Poultry Farm is a US$26 million investment poultry complex, established in 2021 with the aim to revitalize the local poultry industry. Per the agreement the poultry company is supposed to create 500 direct jobs for Liberians and would also grow maize on 200 acres to produce 30,000 metric tons of chicken feed annually, while at the same time working with smallholder farmers by providing seed inputs and technical services for the growth of the poultry sector.
According to a media report, in 2021, Liberia imported poultry products worth's 43.8 million, making the country the 86th largest importer of poultry meat globally.
Minister Nuetah chats with Christopher Bsaibes, Managing Director
The poultry complex, designed to reduce Liberia's reliance on foreign countries for its supply of poultry products, is expected to boost egg production. To date, the management of the company can boast of reducing egg importation by nearly 100 percent.
The management of the farm informed journalists in an exclusive interview, during the visit of the minister, that the government needs to introduce a policy to ban the importation of eggs on the Liberian market.
"The import of eggs needs to stop automatically now because we are supplying the market. The eggs that we produce are better than frozen eggs as any container that enters the market with eggs takes a long time and is no longer good for consumption, but we offer fresh and nutritious eggs. We have met the target for the production of eggs so we want the government to ban the importation of eggs. We have also provided employment for nearly 500 Liberians," said Mr. Christopher Bsaibes, Managing Director of the farm.
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According to him, the facility now has the capacity to host 550,000 birds, producing close to 350,000 eggs daily for the market, with plans to export eggs to neighboring countries. But he mentioned that the investment is exclusively for egg production and maize.
"This investment is mainly meant for eggs. If we want to do poultry meat it will be for our next project," Bsaibes explained.
However, despite the achievements of the farm, local poultry farmers across the country are still finding it difficult to source chicken feed for their farms. The local production of poultry meat is also limited and market access is difficult, thus, making Liberia to still import frozen chickens.
Minister Nuetah has promised to partner with the company to address the issue of chicken feed by supporting more farmers for maize production.
"We see that there's still much work to be done. We are going to provide policy support to enable this company to meet the demand for the market. Before the war, Liberia never imported eggs and the President wants the country to stop the importation. When I arrived here and saw what this company is doing, I believed it is possible to stop the importation of eggs," minister Nuetah asserted.
