Emma Sundblad, Chargé d’affaires at the delegation of the European Union (EU) to Liberia, and Isaac Gyamfi, regional director at Solidaridad West Africa, have signed US$5.89mn grant agreement to develop the cocoa sector in Liberia
Under the Liberia Cocoa Sector Improvement Programme (LICSIP), Solidaridad is expected to support to improve the quality of Liberian cocoa and increase cocoa exports.
With funding from EU, Solidaridad will work in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture on sector policies and regulations to create a competitive and profitable cocoa economy. The project is set to continue for four years.
The project targets the entire cocoa value chain in Liberia, and envisages training of 5000 cocoa farmers in the country. The activities include distribution of planting and other input materials, linking farmers and agro-dealers to international suppliers and buyers, support to the government of Liberia and specifically the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) and finally marketing of Liberian cocoa on the international market.
The project will be implemented in Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties, with Grand Gedeh, River Gee and Gbarpolu Counties as the secondary counties.
The LICSIP is the first contract to be signed under the EU Liberia Agriculture Programme, a US$35.33mn programme financed by the EU to boost agricultural economic development and improve the food and nutrition security in Liberia.