With the harvest season in full swing across Nimba County, some of the region's largest corn producers are sounding the alarm over the lack of government support in post-harvest handling--particularly the absence of modern storage and processing facilities.
Leading the call is Mr. Frederick Gonkartee, a prominent corn farmer in Nimba, who is urging the Ministry of Agriculture to prioritize the establishment of a corn processing plant and adequate storage infrastructure. Gonkartee made the appeal during an interview on his farm on May 25, 2025.
"For a nation to be strong in agriculture, there should be processing plants where farm products will be processed for value addition," Gonkartee said. "Then the price of the produce will be high."
He emphasized that without storage and processing facilities, farmers are forced to offload their harvests at giveaway prices just to avoid spoilage.
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"We are willing to work, but where do we sell the goods? Where do we store our produce? Where is the market?" he asked rhetorically. "With good storage, farmers will not hastily sell their farm produce. But right now, we carry them to the market and end up auctioning the goods to avoid total losses."
Gonkartee currently cultivates over 10 hectares of corn and anticipates harvesting approximately 50 metric tons per cycle--three times a year. However, he is concerned about the sustainability of such productivity in the absence of a reliable market and proper infrastructure.
"This variety of corn you see takes 70 days to get ready for harvest," he said. "If there was a processing area for corn, we could do the processing ourselves. We could make animal feed and other value-added products."
Drawing from his experience visiting neighboring countries, Gonkartee pointed to examples where governments have invested in large warehouses to support local farmers.
"In some of the nearby countries we have gone to gain experience in processing, the government builds huge warehouses where farmers can store their produce until they are ready to sell," he explained.
Corn harvests are currently lining the roadsides of Nimba County--evidence of a productive season. But the bounty may go to waste or be sold below value if post-harvest solutions are not provided.
Mary Gbahn, another farmer, echoed Gonkartee's concerns. "Last year I sold more than 10 metric tons of corn," she recalled. "If we could have a good storage and processing facility, we would store the corn and process it for more profit."
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Her statement is backed by evidence from last season, when poultry owners from across Liberia scouted Nimba for dry corn to feed their birds. However, most farmers, especially those farming near riverbanks, couldn't afford to wait for their harvest to dry.
"If there were a good storage facility or processing facility as well, we would have kept it in the storage until it is dry enough to process it into poultry feeds," said Gonlee, a farmer near the Ivorian border.
The farmers are now calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and development partners to intervene with investments in agro-processing and storage as a way to transform subsistence farming into a profitable agribusiness.
"Good market linkages enhance productivity," Gonkartee stressed. "The government must step in if we are serious about feeding our nation and reducing imports."
