Liberia

An overview from the USAID Liberia website.

Agriculture has accounted for approximately half of GDP in the post-war period, and the majority of Liberians depend on agriculture for their livelihood. In support of a national food security and nutrition plan, the government has committed to increasing its budget share for agriculture from the current level of approximately 3 percent to 10 percent by 2017.

As part of Feed the Future, the U.S. global hunger and food security initiative, USAID supports Liberia's efforts to refine and implement a country-led comprehensive food security strategy to reduce hunger and increase economic growth through market-led agricultural development. Spearheading this campaign is the mission's 5-year, $75 million Food and Enterprise Development program, FED.

Assistance through FED and other USAID-funded agriculture programs will improve the value chains of staple crops such as rice and cassava, including production, processing and linking to markets. The FED program also improves the enabling environment for private sector investment in agriculture and focuses on developing new value chains -- such as vegetables and goats -- that hold the promise of generating higher incomes and providing more diverse diets to the Liberian people.

USAID agriculture programs will focus on Liberian counties with the highest populations, the most farmers, the largest numbers living in poverty and the greatest potential for agriculture development:

Bong
Lofa
Nimba
Grand Bassa
Montserrado
Margibi

Located along Liberia's main economic development corridors, these north-central counties are collectively home to three-quarters of Liberia's population of 4.5 million people.

Priority Institutions

Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI)

Priority Study Areas (MoA)

Agricultural economics
Agribusiness
Social impact analysis (data analysis, planning, statistics and polic development as it pertains to the above fields)
Statistics