AGRICULTURE

Liberia can and must feed itself. More than feeding ourselves, many of the prospects for accelerated transformation of the economy lies in the opportunities that exist in the agriculture sector and their linkages to the industry and services sectors. Special finance facilities and capacity development programs will energize the rural economy and reduce poverty thereby expanding employment opportunities along the agriculture value chain.

CPP's vision for the next six years includes achieving food security - Liberia will be able to feed its citizens while decreasing dependence on imports. Feeding ourselves is key to national security and the future of our country. We can accomplish this by doubling domestic rice production within 2 years and reducing the price of Liberian rice by 25%. The next focus will be to modernize agriculture, improve production efficiency, and increase profitability for our farmers - all aimed at significantly increasing agricultural productivity.

Our agriculture priorities include:

*          Increase food production to become more self-sufficient

*          Double domestic rice product ion in 2 years

*          Create an export -oriented agricultural sector with a focus on regional trade by improving access to domestic and international markets

*          Strengthen rural infrastructure capabilities to create an enabling environment for sustainable farming

*          Build capacity of current small-scale farmers by providing sector training, technology inputs and access to financing