Liberia: 50 Local Farmers Receive Farming Tools in Maryland

About 50 farmers in Maryland County have received farming tools from the government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Agriculture to enhance production.

The presentation took place on Wednesday January 25, 2023, at the Ministry of Agriculture Sub Office in Harper, Maryland County. Those farming tools donated include: wheelbarrows, water pump machines, fertilizers, diggers and shovels, among others.

The Agriculture Officer in Maryland County, Alexander Bates, speaking at the presentation ceremony, said as the population grows in Liberia so is the agriculture sector and it is important for farmers to increase production to meet up with the demand.

“However, there has been a challenge with the lack of farming equipment and seeds to enable them to do more but, with the intervention of the Ministry of Agriculture, their hopes have now been restored, " he added.

With partners' support to the agricultural sector, the donation will  empower farmers to grow more vegetables and other cash crops.

Farmers at the donation ceremony  lauded the efforts of the Agriculture Ministry and explained that, in spite of the lack of farming tools to promote the agriculture sector, the donation presentation was timely and could not have come at any time better than now.

“The different kinds of farming tools provided by the Ministry  will greatly help the farmers to do more in their productions and other activities,” Emmanuel Bannie, an Agriculture technician at the Ministry of Agriculture, noted.

Meanwhile, farmers commended the Ministry of Agriculture for coming to their rescue and promised to use the agricultural tools wisely as a means of making the sector viable in terms of production.

As part of the gesture and project respectively, the Ministry of Agriculture will put in place a monitoring strategy in order to check on farmers' daily activities to ensure the proper usage of the equipment.

The donation ceremony was graced by farmers as well as government officials of Maryland County, especially Barrobo District Superintendent J. Gbejulu Toe, who hailed the government of Liberia, especially the Agriculture Ministry, for the farming tools.

The consignment of farming tools and other agriculture related tools are said to be worth over US$200,000.