By: Keith Morrison | Contributing Writer and Analyst
Monrovia, Liberia-Thursday, July 24, 2025 – The Ministry of Agriculture, through its SADFONS Project with support from the African Development Bank, has donated two brand new vehicles and nine motorbikes to the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) and the Seed Development and Certification Agency (SDCA) to boost agricultural research and seed regulation efforts.
Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah described the two institutions as “critical partners,” adding: “There is no way we will succeed in agriculture when the research center is not strong. I’m proud of CARI and the Seed Agency for making progress despite limited resources.”
He also announced a new seed policy: “By next year, the Seed Agency will supply seeds to farmers—no more seed imports! Vendors must buy only from certified seed growers.”
CARI Administrator, Madam Habibatu Toure-Kromah, shared: “Mobility was a major challenge. With this support, we can now meet our 100-metric-ton seed rice production target set by the African Development Bank.”
SDCA Director-General, Johnson A. Momo, noted: “The agency has been dormant since the war, but we are operational again. This vehicle will help us regulate seed activities across all 15 counties and tackle illegal seed sellers.”
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to food and nutrition security by strengthening key institutions and called for continued collaboration to move Liberia’s agriculture sector forward!
Meanwhile, it is important to highlight that the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is making significant strides in advancing agricultural productivity through its Smallholder Agriculture Development for Food and Nutrition Security (SADFONS) project.
With an $8.2 million budget funded by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the initiative is focused on enhancing smallholder farmers’ productivity, improving market access, and reducing poverty in several counties.
Already, farmers in Grand Bassa, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, and Maryland counties in the past have benefited from the project, receiving much-needed farming equipment and processing machines to improve production. Despite these efforts, local farmers continue to face challenges with production and access to markets, keeping the country reliant on imports of staple crops such as rice.
Furthermore, the SADFONS project has distributed farming equipment such as power tillers, combined harvesters, cassava graters, and gari fryers. These tools are expected to increase productivity and efficiency, especially for cassava and rice farming.
