Thousands of smallholder farmers in Liberia are
set to benefit from an innovative seed distribution initiative that seeks to
combine food security and Ebola containment strategies in Liberia.
The initiative, led by the Alliance for a
Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) (http://www.agra.org) in partnership with the
government and other stakeholders, seeks to strengthen the fragile food system
by providing quality seed paired with Ebola prevention messages to farmers –
many of whom cannot access critical inputs, particularly seeds.
“The 50MT of high yielding yellow maize seed
donated today will go a long way in ensuring that smallholder farmers and their
families remain food secure during this difficult period of the Ebola
epidemic,” says AGRA President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata. “We do not want the Ebola
epidemic to spiral into a food crisis.”
“Ebola has the potential to disrupt our
food systems, since it affects the most productive parts of our economies –
much like the HIV pandemic did in the past. AGRA has built a platform
that can help deliver not only agricultural inputs but health messages and
awareness” said Strive Masiyiwa, Board Chair of AGRA and Chief Executive
Officer of Econet Wireless. “I am excited to see AGRA shoring up support for
small-holder agriculture in Liberia in partnership with the government and
private sector, while combating Ebola,” he added that the AGRA platform is one
of the most effective delivery mechanisms in Africa, led by Africans.
Though Liberia as a country is largely
dependent on agriculture, the sector has suffered severe setbacks with many of
its smallholder farmers unable to produce at an optimal level. This situation
has been worsened by the negative impact of the Ebola epidemic, where farmers
have left their fields for fear of Ebola. The new initiative by AGRA is
targeting smallholder farmers in four counties, starting in Liberia. The high
yielding maize seed has the potential to increase harvests by a factor of two
to three, mitigating food supply pressure, while Ebola awareness messages and
simple tools like buckets and soaps will provide farmers the first line of
defense against the disease.
AGRA worked with the governments of
Liberia and Ivory Coast, the African Development Bank and the private sector in
Mali in this effort. “AGRA is grateful to the African Development Bank
President, Dr. Donald Kaberuka and the Ivory Coast government for assisting us
to get the seeds across the border in good time,” said Dr Kalibata.
“With this support from the Econet
Development Foundation, and in response to the looming food crisis in the
country, our Program for African Seed Systems (PASS) will intensify its work by
increasing access to high quality seed to improve agricultural practice and
food availability for Liberian smallholder farmers, ” says PASS Director, Joe
DeVries. “We will work in partnership with the Ministries of Agriculture and
Health, private seed companies, national farmer organizations and other local
partners to ensure that the support provided gets to the targeted
farmers.”
While this round of seeds is distributed
freely, given the financial pressures faced by farmers, this initiative is part
of the comprehensive approach that AGRA takes to ensure better food systems by
creating seed companies and training agro-dealers to create the proper market
incentives to ensure long-term economic sustainability.
Through previous support from the Howard
G. Buffett Foundation, PASS has worked to build a sustainable seed system based
on farmer demand for quality seed. The organization is currently supporting
three local seed companies to produce, multiply, and make quality seeds
available to farmers. PASS has also provided funding to the Central Agriculture
Research Institute (CARI) to research on staples such as rice, cassava, and
maize in order to improve agriculture productivity and has trained eight
Liberian seed specialists at the Kwame Nkrumah University for Science and
Technology, Ghana, all in the bid to ensure smallholder farmers in the country
break away from using low-yielding seeds to high-yielding ones.
Released By:
AGRA
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