Cocoa Farmers Crave Government Support

By Kortu B. Snowe

Cocoa farmers in Gorlu Town, are appealing to the Liberian government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and its partners, to continue providing farming tools such as solar dryers, rain boots, hoes, spades, spray cans, and insecticides. These materials, they say, are essential for producing healthy cocoa and improving the overall quality and quantity of cocoa beans in Liberia.

Gorlu is located in Salayea District, Lofa County. The cocoa farming is happening 3km from Salayea Community Forest and 6km away Forest Management Contract Area.

Yarpu Mulbah, a cocoa farmer in Gorlu Town, expressed appreciation for the support already provided by the Ministry and its partners but stressed the need for more tools.

“The availability of solar dryers helps us dry cocoa properly and preserve the best grades. Insecticides, pesticides, and spraying cans are also important in protecting our crops from pests and diseases,” she said.

Mark Gadolo, another farmer, noted their willingness to contribute to reforestation and invest more in long-term tree crops, but said such efforts depend on consistent support from government partners and improved market conditions.

“The price of cocoa on the local market should be increased to help farmers sustain their work,” Gadolo added.

Jimmy Gbaroson, head of the lead cocoa farmers’ cooperative, thanked the government for its support so far but highlighted the severe lack of equipment for the 75 cocoa farming groups in Gorlu.

“We don’t have enough basic tools like spades and rain boots. The last cocoa seedlings we received did not grow well because planting was delayed due to a lack of tools,” he explained.

He called for each cooperative group to be equipped with at least one solar dryer, stressing that it would help farmers produce grade A and B cocoa, which command higher prices on the market. He also urged the government to reinstate previous support programs such as grants or the “food-for-work” initiative to sustain local farms.

In response, Mr. Abass Mark Biaty, Lofa County Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the Ministry has made significant investments in cocoa farming across seven agricultural districts—including Salayea, Zorzor, Voinjama, Queduboni, Kolahun, Foya, and Vahun. He noted that road connectivity challenges have slowed progress in Vahun District.

“We currently have ten cocoa nursery sites, each containing over 25,000 seedlings intended for farmer cooperatives,” Biaty said. “Each cooperative includes men, women, and youth, and receives not just seedlings but also training, tools, and technical support.”

He emphasized that while the Ministry does not directly pay cooperatives, it provides essential support such as spray cans, rain boots, solar dryers, tricycles, motorcycles, and sometimes even fuel to ease farming work.

Mr. Biaty acknowledged farmers’ concerns about unstable market prices but noted that Liberia currently offers one of the highest cocoa prices in the region.

“The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) currently sets the price for grade A cocoa at $6.64 USD, grade B at $5.35 USD, and grade C at $4.00 USD,” said Godon Garway, the Public Relations Officer of the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority.

Comparatively, according to CNBC Africa, the farmgate price in Côte d’Ivoire is between $3.35 and $3.85 USD per kilogram. In Guinea, prices range from $3.03 USD to $3.85 USD. Sierra Leone’s data was unavailable at the time of reporting.

But the high value price of the Liberian cocoa has not come without the corresponding consequences of deforestation and environmental degradation. In April 2024, an Ivorian-Based Civil Society Organization, IDEF reported in its Independent Cocoa Observer Report that between 2001 and 2022, Liberia lost 2.2 million hectares of vegetation cover, equivalent to a 23% decrease in vegetation cover since 2000. In 2022 alone, the country lost 150,000 hectares of natural forest (Global Forest Watch). The forest menace in Liberia is heightened by the influx of foreign nationals, mainly Borukinabes in search of forest land for cocoa farming.

In order to address the increasing wave of forest lost, the media reported last week that the European Union (EU) has placed a ban on cocoa imports from Southeastern Liberia where Burkinabes are illegally cutting down the forest for cocoa farming. While this decision affects only the Southeast, measures are required to engage in sustainable forest practices in Lofa County, especially those involved in cocoa farming in order to avoid EU’s restriction.

This story was produced as part of the Liberia Forest Media Watch effort to strengthen opportunities for rural female journalists to produce print and radio news stories on natural resource with support from the European Union through the French Development Agency.