The EU, along with development organisation Solidaridad West Africa, launched the Liberia Cocoa Sector Improvement Programme (LICSIP) to help cocoa farmers in Liberia
LICSIP, a four-year programme aimed at improving the cocoa supply chain, was launched at the Cuttington University in Suakoko, Bong County.
The programme will help farmers in Liberia access farm production support services through Centres for Cocoa Development (CCDs). CCDs will be operated by cocoa companies, farmer organizations and other supply chain actors as small medium enterprises (SMEs).
Liberia's agriculture ministry will partner with the EU, which will be the main source of funding for LICSIP.
“As we launch LICSIP today, I entreat all Liberian cocoa farmers and actors to give their utmost support to the programme as cocoa can mean a lot to livelihoods and our national economy," said Liberian minister of agriculture, Mogana Flomo, who launched the programme.
“With our vast experience in developing sustainable cocoa supply chains in West Africa, Solidaridad will promote yield intensification through farmer education and provision of services, and facilitate an enabling cocoa policy environment that helps to improve cocoa quality to make it attractive for the international market,” said MacArthur Pay-Bayee, country representative of Solidaridad in Liberia.
“We are hoping that by the end of this project we will see chocolate produced with sustainable Liberian cocoa on the shelves of supermarkets in Europe and around the World," EU Ambassador Hélène Cavé, said.
