Despite the Liberian government's efforts to support extension, delivery remains challenging.
Many of the country's farmers complain about the lack of extension workers in many of the farming communities across the country to address their constraints.
To address the gaps in extension to improve food security, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the government has now recruited 85 extension workers out of the 100 agricultural districts of the country and placed them on payroll with a plan for additional recruitment.
The MoA has also presented motorbikes to 52 District Agriculture Officers (DAOs), and vehicles to 4 Regional Agriculture Coordinators (RACs), empowering them to reach out to farming communities.
The Ministry said before that there were only 47 DAOs in the country, 23 who were actively working and 24 who had reached retirement age.
Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah recently speaking to extension workers stated that the move demonstrates the government's commitment to transforming the agricultural sector.
Minister Nuetah added that because improvement for extension is so important the government has not only recruited more DAOs but has harmonized their salaries from US$250 to US$450 monthly, starting March 2025, removing disparities.
"We had to sit with the Civil Service Agency to discuss the salary harmonization. If you were making US$200 as a DAO, before you will now make US$450," the minister said.
He said that without better extension delivery, the country will find it difficult to move agriculture forward.
"There's just no way agriculture will work in this country without technicians to provide farmers the guidance. This is the reason why we are taking your recruitment seriously to help the farmers in many areas of production," he said.
The minister asked the newly empowered extension workers to take their assignments seriously to advance the lives of the farmers.
He mentioned that his Ministry is going to empower the extension workers with GPS coordinates to enable them to survey farmers' fields within the country.
"We are going to train extension workers on how to use the GPS coordinates so that the country can get the right statistics for production," he stated.
According to him, gone should be the days when farmers are doing farming without the knowledge of the farm size.
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The Minister emphasized the need for further training to enable them to become more efficient.
"I still see poverty in the lives of more farmers. You are the first responder in the agriculture sector to help change the lives of the people in the agricultural sector. So, you will need to take your job very seriously or else we are going to fire you," the minister cautioned.
The Minister added that there is still a plan to have additional people recruited as technicians to augment the workforce.
Minister Nuetah has called on extension workers to do their work with a high level of honesty and integrity, stating that anyone found in any form of malpractices will be dealt with accordingly.
"You're employed to work for the farmers and if we notice that you are involved with corrupt practice, we will make sure to investigate and when found guilty we will fire you," the minister stated.
The country's agriculture minister has reiterated commitment to eliminating corrupt practices in the sector.
