cocoa pods

LIBERIA IDENTIFIES COCOA AS A ‘NATIONAL PRIORITY’

Liberia, whose economy is predominantly reliant on exports of rubber, identified Cocoa as a national priority for diversifying sources of income for the country. The significance of the commodity to the country’s economy, was highlighted in the Liberia National Export Strategy (2014-2018).

Edward Brown, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) Senior Director of Research, Policy and Programs, believes that a closer look at how the regional value chain interacts with the country’s policies and regulations is required.

Unlike its neighbouring West African nations, Liberia is not known for its Cocoa exports.

Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire produce almost two-thirds of world Cocoa; Liberia’s Cocoa development would further augment that percentage… there is the need to look at how we situate the Liberian Cocoa production, policy and industry, to ensure that they have the maximum benefit from the experiences of other countries.

Edward Brown, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) Senior Director of Research, Policy and Programs

Geertrui Louwagie, the cooperation officer for Agricultural Development and Food Security at the European Union, holds a similar stance.

The European Union has a keen interest in investing in Liberia’s Cocoa sector, because we believe it has the potential to be one of the several success stories for Liberia’s development. An integrated approach across the Cocoa value chain would go a long way in achieving this.

Geertrui Louwagie, the cooperation officer for Agricultural Development and Food Security at the European Union

There are many challenges facing Liberia’s Cocoa sector at present however, from inadequate finances and a lack of modern equipment to subpar production methods that result in improper fermentation and drying, and failure to renew old diseased trees.

To begin to address the issues, ACET and USAID have begun discussions on the “Regional Collaboration on Overcoming Binding Constraints on the Growth of Liberia’s Cocoa Value Chain”.

The Government of Liberia and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have received $23 million in financing to increase Cocoa production, particularly focusing on Nimba County. This additional aid is expected to boost the country’s Cocoa production to over 10,000 metric tonnes. The sustainable cocoa sector in Liberia, has three main focuses:

  1. Investments and Cocoa marketing;
  2. Sustainable production and quality control, and;
  3. Environment and climate change.

The Liberian Economic Policy Dialogue Activity (LEPDA) project, aims to provide technical assistance, capacity development and grants to the areas that need it, in order to promote economic expansion through private sector investment in Liberia.

The project, led by Nathan Associate, together with the government of Liberia and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), brought together key individuals in Liberia’s Cocoa sector, to discuss how they would shape and enhance the country’s Cocoa industry.

The CSOs will carry out an analysis of the political economy, and a Cocoa value chain study, as part of their capacity development operations, leading to policy dialogue, and ultimately the development of Liberia’s Cocoa Policy. A critical aspect of this process is a comparison of similar cocoa-producing economies, such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, both of whom currently hold a partnership.

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