-- How Johnson Yah is empowering his and other families through agriculture, thanks to advice from his wife
Johnson Yah, a local farmer, once dreamt of becoming a politician, but following advice from his wife many years ago, he turned out to be a successful farmer. His farm currently provides income for many people in the surrounding villages and contributes to their food security.
Mr. Yah lived around Blomu village, along the Madam Suakoko's Highway, a few minutes' drive away from Totota, in Salala District, Lower Bong County.
As a young man, in 2005, following the Liberian civil war, he and his wife Marie Yah ventured into agriculture with very little resources but with the goal of reducing poverty in their lives.
Surprisingly, little did they know how impactful the farm could turn out to be in the lives of many in the surrounding villages.
"I went into agriculture because of advice received from my wife," Yah says. "I really wanted to become a representative of my district, but due to some reason best known to her, she told me those days not to pursue the goal of politics. I was neglected by relatives and friends for this decision, but the story has changed today."
He explained that in his community, the people were lacking income opportunities to support children's education. However, with the establishment of the Johnson Yah Farm Cooperative, which has developed over the years, the villagers worked there to earn incomes to support their families.
Established in 2005, the farm currently employs more than 50 villagers and hires contractors on a daily basis, the majority of whom are women and youths.
It is situated on about one hundred acres, which he bought and cultivated with different kinds of crops, including rubber, cocoa, oil palm, lowland rice, vegetables, and a fish pond. They are now expanding to snail and bee farming, as well as poultry.
Yah said the farm has immensely helped young people generate income to pay school fees and tuition.
"We started by clearing the land to first plant the rubber, but it was not an easy task because we needed to pay the workers. When they took the guns from the ex-combatants, we hired them to work on the farm," he explained.
There was no road leading to the farm from Blomu when Yah started. The place was a big forest and required more resources to build a road. But, with determination and courage, Yah and his wife managed to hire people to help them build the road with their bare hands reaching the farm.
"The journey was tough. But we were able to work with our bare hands to de-stump the area and build the road to get vehicles to reach the farm, he added.
Yah explained that since his venture in agriculture, he has never received any assistance from the government or international partners.
Over the years, the government of Liberia had attracted monies from donors to support individual farmers and cooperatives. There has also been many NGOs working with farmers in Yah's district.
"Since we started this farm, we haven't been fortunate to get any assistance from the government or international partners. But this farm is still contributing to the empowerment of people as more women and youths are employed and work here each day as contractors to earn incomes and support their families," he said.
After he achieved his bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Liberia, Johnson Yah volunteered his services to teach at the public school in Totota.
"I started my university education with the desire to learn agriculture, but later I had to leave that area of learning to go to do business. When I started this farm, I taught in the public school to help my community," he said.
"With this farm, I have reduced poverty from my life and helped to support the education of other people's children."
Yah has built a decent house in his village and many of his children are attending private universities.
Yah explained that at the onset, he was scolded for his desire to venture into agriculture. "When I was coming to the village, they laughed at me, saying, why are you leaving the city for the bush? You're a learned man; why are you going into the bush? But I told my wife we needed to do so because we don't want people to laugh at us tomorrow.
In Liberia, the agriculture sector is still not yet seen by many as a place of wealth creation or poverty reduction. Many still believe that it is not so easy to succeed in farming.
Seeking Partnership
Yah believes that a partnership with his farm by the Ministry of Agriculture, or International NGOs would be very much helpful in further improving the farming activities of the villagers.
According to him, there are more than 50 villages around Totota, and its surrounding towns that lack processing centers.
He said in those villages the people's food security situation needs to be improved.
"I want the government to help me so that I can improve the lives of the people of the villages. The people are suffering around here because they are not earning enough from farming. They need opportunities to enable them to earn more income and grow more food," he explained.
According to him, he also runs a mobile rice processing operation that helps the communities to process their rice at a reasonable cost.
"I just bought a little machine which I carry around in the various villages to mill the rice for the villagers for reasonable fees. People nowadays are finding it difficult to even pound rice, so we take out the machine to them and process their rice. The villagers give back two or three cups of rice for the services provided, which helps us to buy fuel to operate the machine.
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Yah mentioned that whenever he mills the rice, he sells it to the people at a very low cost.
Yah further said that the fishpond, whenever it is harvested, provides a protein source for the people of the villages and brings more income for the farm.
"I used the money generated to re-invest in the farm. But I think I can do more for the people if the government can work with me by empowering me," he said.
Yah wants the Ministry to provide him with a grant to establish a modern processing center on the farm to improve the incomes of the farmers.
"People should be helped based on their potential and not by mere connections. This can help to have an impact on many people."
Meanwhile, Yah has realized his purpose in life, which is to be a farmer generating incomes from it to impact the lives of many community people.
"Though I am a popular figure in the district, I don't have an interest in politics. I want to remain a farmer using agriculture to improve lives. What I envisioned now is empowerment from the government to improve food security in the district," he emphatically said.
