Liberia: MoA Extension Unit Strengthened to Assist Farmers

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) extension department unit has received 10 brand new Yamaha motorbikes from its Rural Economic Transformation Agriculture Project (RETRAP) to promote extension delivery services for smallholder farmers.

RETRAP is a five-year World Bank-supported project of the ministry that aims to boost the incomes of smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, marketing as well as to improve infrastructures of the country’s agriculture sector. The project helps to assist smallholder farmers and value chains in cassava, rubber, poultry, swine husbandry, and vegetables.. 

Tarnue N. Jeke, RETRAP Project Operational Manager, said the bikes were supplied after a request was made through the ministry's Department of Regional Development Research and Extension (DRDRE) to allow 

field agents to collaborate in delivery extension services.  DRDRE oversees regional growth in agricultural output, research in social-economic programs, and extension delivery services. The department's primary goal is to provide agricultural extension services to farmers to improve incomes and productivity.

Jeke said the project is also assisting institutions that are working to strengthen the agriculture sector. According to him, those institutions have some specific weaknesses that the RETRAP project seeks to address, adding that one of those gaps has to do with logistical needs of institutions. 

“Today, we are officially turning over the bikes based on the request of the extension unit of the Ministry to reach out to beneficiaries in the counties,” he said.

Jeke claimed that RETRAP is working relentlessly to ensure that smallholder farmers are empowered in order to improve yields and market access. 

He said that the project is collaborating with local partners to boost the productivity of smallholder farmers and enterprises for value chains such as cassava, rubber, swine, vegetables and poultry.

For her part, MOA Asset Director, Munah Nmah thanked RETRAP for the donation and promised to use them for the intended purposes.

She said, “I like to thank RETRAP for its contributions in  strengthening the extension department with logistics in order to deliver services in the sector. We hope to get more support from the project to improve the sector,” she said.