By: Ben TC Brooks| River Gee County Contributing Reporter
River Gee County – Tuesday, October 7, 2025- Scores of local farmers in River Gee County, including members of the Karford Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society in Tienpo Statutory District, are counting huge losses after nearly 10 acres of cassava farms rotted due to deplorable road conditions and the absence of a cassava processing machine in their communities.
The affected farmers, mostly smallholder men and women say the situation has left them devastated, as months of hard labor and investment have been rendered fruitless.
They had hoped for a profitable harvest this season, but instead, they are face with economic setback.
Speaking our reporter, Oliver Jay, Business Manager of the Karford Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, and Madam Susannah S. Donmon, one of the group’s senior members, explained that the poor condition of farm-to-market road made it impossible to transport their harvested cassava to nearby market places in River Gee.
“There’s no access road to move our cassava to the market,” Madam Donmon lamented. “We worked hard, cleared the land, planted, and weeded. But when it was time to harvest, the road became impassable. We couldn’t move the cassava to sell it, and now most of it has spoiled in the ground.”
They further explained that even if the farmers had managed to extract part of their harvest, the lack of a cassava processing machine in the area made it impossible to turn the tubers into gari, fufu, or other marketable products.
The entire Tienpo Statutory district, including Sheriken town, the native homeland of former River Gee Senator Matthew Jay has long being struggling with access roads and to basic agricultural facilities despite being known for their fertile lands and hardworking farming population.
Eric W. Jackson, another farmer from Tienpo Geleeken Community, echoed similar frustrations. He appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture, the River Gee County Administration, and development partners to intervene urgently.
“We need help with farm-to-market roads and cassava processing centers,” Jackson said. “If nothing is done, farmers will continue losing their crops, and the entire district will suffer.”
Miss. Gabrieline T. Solbert, a youth farmer in Sheriken, described the loss as a major setback to local food security.
“Cassava and rice are our main food crops here,” Solbert explained. “When we lose harvests like this, it affects everything, our families, the local economy, and even our children’s education. Some of us can’t afford school fees or basic household needs this year.”
In addition to road and processing challenges, farmers in Tienpo District are also pleading for basic farming tools such as cutlasses, hooks, shovels, wheelbarrows, raincoats, rain boots, and hand gloves. They believe such support will enable them to expand production and improve food supply in the county despite the poor roads conditions within the district.
Agricultural authorities have repeatedly identified poor infrastructure, lack of storage facilities, and limited access to processing equipment as key factors undermining smallholder farmers’ productivity in southeastern Liberia.
When contacted for comments, Jasper Sheriff Tweh, the County Agriculture Coordinator, of River Gee acknowledged the farmers’ concerns and assured that efforts are underway to seek lasting solutions.
“We are aware of the situation,” Tweh said. “The Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with our development partners, is mobilizing resources to provide community cassava processing machines and other Agricultural tools.
However, he cautioned that such interventions will take time, as funding and logistical coordination are still in progress.
Meanwhile, the farmers are urging that these actions be implemented swiftly, before the next planting season begins to prevent another round of devastating losses.
“We can’t afford for this to happen again,” said farmers “If the government helps us now, we can recover and feed our families and communities.” they concluded.
