May 22, 2024
Agriculture Minister Nuetah tells Gbadin famers
The Minister of Agriculture Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah has told the farmers in Gbadin and the citizens of Nimba that the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will bring Gbadin back to its prewar status in terms of rice production.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture will build dams to supply the entire farmland in Gbadin to enable the farmers to harvest three times a year.
“Gbadin will be one of the centres in Liberia, where parboiled rice will be produced,” he said.
Speaking at the tour in Gbadin on May 21, 2024, he explained that the government has already put in place all mechanisms to ensure rice farming move from shifting cultivation to mechanised farming, replacing everything that was lost.
Minister Nuetah said in order to take farmers from shifting cultivation to mechanised farming, the government is going to a mechanisation centre, where all agriculture implements will be available for all farmers.
“In this centre, a farmer can go there and hire a tractor or any other farming equipment to enhance his farming for mass production and pay a small amount as fee,” he said.
“For example, if you want to do destoning, you don’t have to use diggers or hard labour to get it done; rather you can go to the centre, take the required implement and do your work easily,” he said.
Minister Nuetah, who expressed gratitude to the people of Nimba for their work, vowed to have four mechanisation centres in Nimba, including Gbadin, Kpain, Tappita and any other place found necessary.
Minister Nuetah and entourage toured several potential agriculture sites in some parts of Nimba, including Kpain, Ganta, Beeplay (IFAD Cocoa nursery site) Tappita, Gbadin and the quarantine centre on the Ganta border.
“Rice will be produced on a large scale in Liberia as well as other crops,” he said.
He said the newly launched National Agriculture Development Plan, the Ministry will prioritise all sectors in agriculture, such corn, cassava, vegetables, oil palm, fishery, livestock and among others.
There was excitement among the farmers in Gbadin for the visit of the Minister, with some of them urging the government to bring Gbadin back to its prewar status.
Mr. Junior Togbaquee, an elderly man who was born and grew up in Gbadin, explained Gbadin lost its production due to lack of support, especially when the dam got damaged.
He said in 2014, a NGO known as ‘Africa Rice’ came to their aid, where they produced about 50,000 bags of seeds of rice but, due to the failure of the government to purchase the rice at the time, the rice got spoiled in the warehouse.
Gbadin is said to have over 400 hectares of lowland. It was managed by the Chinese long ago, but the war left nearly all the facilities damaged or looted.
Currently, the farm is managed by a cooperative known as Dokodan, which has been active during the post war period.
However, in spite of alleged mismanagement and misapplication of the equipment and substantial support that has been received from ngos, the cooperative continues to beg for support.
Many are sceptical about how far the agricultural plan will go, citing mismanagement, corruption, misapplication of entrusted property; especially government property.
Yet, the Minister has warned that anyone caught in any corrupt practices will be prosecuted according to the law.
