Document Type: Briefs

The Government of Liberia (GoL) recently adopted a new land rights policy and is currently developing land administration and land rights legislation. The guiding policy document, endorsed by the President, grants unprecedented land rights to communities. The draft land rights law provides for community-based organizations (CBO) to oversee and administer community customarily owned lands. In developing the community land governance institutions, it would be useful to look at the Community Rights Law (CRL) and its governance institutions as a model for local governance. However, in doing so, it becomes evident that a CRL governance organization may overlap with the responsibilities of a land governance entity. Further, the land governance entity would likely fall under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) or a newly created Land Management Agency which could lead to issues of jurisdictional authority and murky areas of the law that could be exploited by unscrupulous interests. At this formative time, it is worthwhile to consider the different ways in which customary land management and governance can be streamlined at the local level to avoid duplication of efforts, conflict between different governance institutions, and to provide clarity regarding government agencies’ roles and responsibilities under a land management system that recognizes enlarged community rights.

Through a combination of agricultural, forestry, and mining concessions, it has been estimated that more than 23% of the land mass of Liberia has been granted to commercial entities for management by the Government of Liberia, under the assumption that this land is owned by the government (Land Commission, 2012). However, much of Liberia’s rural land, while categorized as government land, is traditionally held in customary ownership by the local population. The Community Rights Law of 2009(CRL), and more recently the Land Rights Policy (LRP) recognize this customary ownership (see LRP §4.2) and, in the case of the CRL, ownership of forest resources (see CRL §2.2(a)). The passage of the Land Rights Law will further strengthen customary rights by codifying the means by which customary rights can be recognized and secured. While a welcome development, recognition of customary ownership of resource could trigger conflict in areas where there are existing concessions. This will be particularly controversial where concession agreements contain provisions that grant concession holders the right to clear land and sell any merchantable timber without payment of royalties or other payments to the Government of Liberia (GoL).

The case of the Gba Community Forest (CF) in the Arcelor-Mittal Liberia (AML) concession area in northern Nimba County serves to illustrate the potential issues and the inability of policy and law to adequately address ambiguities introduced by an evolving legal framework. The path followed by AML and the Gba Community to bridge the gap created by the absence of legislation or policy, serves as a potential model for the many other concessions in Liberia and future community forest claims therein. This policy brief draws upon this experience to suggest policy directions and questions for decision-makers to ponder as community rights are recognized more fully in Liberia.

Liberia’s Community Rights Law (CRL) recognizes the fundamental importance of inclusive participation for community forest management. However, practical challenges to the broad involvement of women as well as poor men remain. That said, it is important to recognize that “pushing” women to participate in community forest governance, without sufficient attention to mitigating the costs of their participation may have negative, unintended consequences. Participation may add to a woman’s burden of responsibilities and time poverty or provoke a backlash against their speaking out at public forums. A central question is: how to promote inclusive participation for strong community forest management, which does not unduly burden women or other marginalized groups.

This policy brief examines the justification for special consideration of social inclusion in community forest governance in Liberia, reviews the experience of promoting women and marginalized people’s participation in forest management, and proposes several options to support inclusive engagement in community forestry.

This report highlights activities carried out from August 1 – 15, 2012.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In Nimba County:

• At one of the seven demonstration sites, 25 farmers with 0.6 hectare of land have completed transplanting lowland rice. Transplanting of lowland rice continues at six sites with 150 farmers on3.6 hectares of land.
• 75 farmers with1.8 hectares of land have completed planting cassava and 50 farmers with 1.2 hectares of land continue planting cassava..

In Lofa County:

• 25 farmers with 0.6 hectare of land have completed transplanting lowland rice and 50 farmers with 1.2 hectares of land have completed the planting of upland rice.
• 100 cassava farmers have completed the planting of cassava on 2 hectares of land each.

In Grand Bassa County:

• 25 farmers with 0.6 hectare of land have completed transplanting lowland rice and four demonstration sites with 100 farmers with 2.4 hectares continues to transplant lowland rice.
• All five demonstration sites for cassava, with 150 farmers with 2 hectares of land each, continue to plant cassava.

In Bong County:

• All five demo sites for lowland rice, with 150 farmers with 3 hectares of land continue to transplant the rice.
• All five demo sites for cassava, with 150 farmers with 2 hectares of land each, continue to plant cassava.

Peri Urban Vegetable Production – Preparation of the vegetable seedling production training program will start on August 20th in all six counties with 18 trainees.

Goat Interventions

• FED has now officially partnered with the USDA Goat Value Chain program being implemented by Land O’Lakes in Liberia. FED and Land O’Lakes will be jointly identifying goat producers as “Lead” farmers for joint programming / assistance and coordinating the use of each program’s resources to strategically support the development of the Goat Sub-sector in Liberia.
• Final discussions surrounding the implementation of the National PPR goat vaccination campaign is in the final stages of negotiation with BRAC and FED. The Purchase Order will be finalized this week and the campaign will officially launch next week.

Doumpa Community Project

The Doumpa Community Project has started harvesting its vegetables (bitter ball and eggplant). Six bags of bitter-balls (45kg each) and one bag of eggplants (50kg) was produced in the first harvest. The second harvest is scheduled for August 20, 2012. Over the next five months, all crops harvested will immediately be sold at local markets.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. FED is helping the government of Liberia achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches and actively incorporates women and youth.

This incentive structure is being built upon:

• Improved technologies for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing;
• Enterprise Services; and
• Workforce and Human Capacity Development.

FED’s activities work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to extension services, agricultural inputs, improved technologies, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and business development services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are part of expanding development corridors that aim to foster intra- and inter-county commerce, and improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and the modern technologies which will boost agricultural productivity.

FED is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), supported by subcontracts with the Cadmus Group, International Fertilizer Development Center, Louisiana State University and Winrock International.

During the period April 1- 15 FED activities ranged from finalizing memorandum of understanding’s with a further seven lead goat farmers, interactive forums with hundreds of farmers in Lofa and trainings for key staff.

As demonstrated in the cover photograph the goat shelter construction process is progressing with further structures scheduled to be erected the remaining two weeks in April. MOU’s have now been signed with lead farmers in Grand Bassa, targets for agreements with 20 farmers have been exceeded with two extra MOUs being agreed in addition to the five that were forecast for Grand Bassa.

Interactive forums were conducted in Lofa County between April 3-6th which involved 437 number of farmers from 6 districts, Foya, Kolahun, Voinjama, Quanda Gboni, Zor Zor and Salayea. These forum’s served as community outreach events addressing the questions of current and prospective farmers, partners, NGOs. FED’s extension officers from Lofa addressed the audiences on various issues pertaining to their county, these included; what FED stands for, who USAID are, provision of technical agriculture best practice tips for not only farming but farming as a business. Live interactive talk shows were also conducted at three community radio stations in Lofa to tie in with the event and serve as further means of educating farmers how USAID’s FED progam can help them and how the FtF initiative is different from NGO based support. Jingles were also distributed to local community radio stations to reinforce messages provided in the forums. All jingles include women’s voices and there was a strong emphasis placed on getting female representation at the forum.

The Enterprise Development Team have been making arrangements for the forthcoming MoCI conference where FED will be hosting a breakout session. The ED team have also been involved in organizational strengthening training.

Studies were undertaken by Dr. Edward Rhodes who was working with component three in soil testing, Jim Correll investigated plant diseases that are a threat in Liberia and Dr. Eric Wailes has been updating rice policy issues and data analysis concerning upland vs. lowland rice commercialization feasibility.

Trainings took place in best practice pesticide use for the PUA team, rice value chain have been rolling out fabrication and demonstration of parboiling drum, tanks in addition to the construction and demonstration of the benefits of concrete drying floors, this has initially been rolled out to six farming groups in Lofa, Nimba, and Bong counties.

FED welcomed Component One lead David Benafel who joined the team on April 15th.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. FED is helping the government of Liberia achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches and actively incorporates women and youth.

This incentive structure is being built upon:

• Improved technologies for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing;
• Enterprise Services; and
• Workforce and Human Capacity Development.

FED’s activities work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to extension services, agricultural inputs, improved technologies, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and business development services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are part of expanding development corridors that aim to foster intra- and inter-county commerce, and improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and the modern technologies which will boost agricultural productivity.

FED is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), supported by subcontracts with the Cadmus Group, International Fertilizer Development Center, Louisiana State University and Winrock International.

March 1-15 saw a number of FED activities ranging from an ambassadorial visit to the rolling out of Enterprise Development Training.

On March 13th (Liberian Decoration Day) Deborah Malac, US Ambassador for Liberia visited two FED supported sites, her first visit was to Sangai Farm where farmer Bill Tolbert talked the ambassador through some of the technicalities and challenges in the management of peri-urban vegetable crops and showcased the FED funded drip-irrigation which is already assisting in yield and crop quality improvement. The ambassador proceeded to Booker T. Washington Institute where Ms. Malac viewed the USAID supported ICT and internet connectivity facility. During her visit Ms. Malac expressed appreciation at both FED sites after engaging with project staff and beneficiaries alike, the ambassador spoke to staff members and students who highlighted key activities and explained how USAID support had benefited them.

Between March1-15 130 pepper seedlings were transplanted at the MOA demonstration site in Kakata, Margibi County.

The Goat Pass-on Scheme memorandum of understanding signings have been finalized with participating Lead Farmer Goat Producers in Nimba, Lofa, and Bong Counties.

The Enterprise Development team has commenced the Financial Management and Organizational Strengthening Training with three groups in Lofa and Nimba Counties and it continues in Bong and Grand Bassa March 15-29.

A forum was held in Monrovia around developing a national diploma curriculum for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions on agriculture. The three day forum started on February 27 and ended on March 1, 2013. Alongside the other partners FED’s technical expertise in human capacity building and technical agriculture based educational recommendations the forum was to discuss a way forward in the development of a competency based national curriculum in agriculture at post-secondary level taking into account international best practices that will respond to the skill needs of the employment sector.

The FED project is running at full capacity as the May 1 through 15 activities demonstrate. Component One: Increased Agriculture Productivity is committed to keeping pace with the current crop cycle. The input supply activity is designing a demonstration program to promote new technologies for improving lowland rice production through UDP fertilizer applications and ISFM. The preparation of a pilot voucher program for agricultural inputs is also in progress for Bong and Nimba Counties.

For the value chains a number of site assessments for the planting of rice took place during this period. The challenges identified during the assessments included the need for rehabilitation of water control and management structures, heavy de-stumping and food for the workers at the sites. The ToT on sustainable cassava production best practices was conducted for 65 participants from NGO staffs, lead farmers, EOs from Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa and Nimba Counties as well as representatives from CARI. An 8,000 mini-stem cutting germ plasma bank for cassava was established at the FED office in Bong County and Farmers’ field in Nimba County.

Twenty sites in Margibi and Montserrado counties are expanding their vegetables production base while maintaining current production and harvesting of vegetables. The PUA and communication teams visited project sites at Sackie Bomah Farmers Association and Yarnguelleh to video tape agriculture best practices where field layout and harvesting of peppers were recorded. Two plots (10 X 10 m2) of chili peppers yielded 75 Kgs of peppers that were taken to the market.

Six of 13 lead goat farmer shelters and fenced sites have been completed in Nimba. These six sites will provide good examples for the completion of the remaining shelters to follow in the next two to three weeks. In Bong, one shelter is completed with a second shelter about to start. Construction materials for all lead goat farmer production sites have been delivered for beginning construction of the remaining shelters. Plans are under way for Lofa and Grand Bassa shelter construction.

The development of a National Livestock Policy was the subject of a regional ECOWAS stakeholders meeting on May 6-8 by the African Union/Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, titled Veterinary-Governance (VET-GOV). Dr. McCarthy and Dr. Agyenmang representing FED participated in the conference. The recently completed first DRAFT of the Liberian National Livestock Policy with the support of FED was part of the discussion and will be the first action of the VET-GOV multi-stakeholder review for Liberia.

Component Two Enterprise Development (ED) team worked with Component One to jump start the Pilot voucher program in Bong and Nimba Counties. A backward mapping exercise was initiated in Monrovia to identify large buyers of product from the FED value chains to include location and preference in terms of quality, quantity and purchase frequency. The IQC/RFP0006 bid for rural BSP’s was opened and evaluation of the 26 submitted proposals commenced. A Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) RFP for TOT for FED staff was published and a bidder’s conference held.

Two MOUs were drafted and await approval for the capacity building of Nimba County Community College (NCCC) and Grand Bassa Community College (GBCC) for Component Three. The second allotment of textbooks (two hundred and eighty) procured through Longman Publishers arrived on May 1. These books are meant for the Centers of Excellence’s libraries which will enhance the resources to pilot the new National Diploma in Agriculture, an ECOWAS-TVET post-secondary curriculum for Liberia Community Colleges.

Intense preparation took place for the capacity building workshop for the group of interns assigned to Montserrado, Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties. The workshop started on May 15 and ends May 18 where 111 interns will meet in two groups over the period of four days.

The Monitoring and Evaluation rice farmer survey field work was completed. Survey sample size was 2.3% of about 8,200 farmers. Vegetable demonstration and vegetable seedling surveys continue.

FED is in talks with UNICEF regarding their National Youth Service Program which supports recent college graduates, offering them the chance to volunteer their time and work in four sectors of the Liberian economy. The agricultural sector has been the one sector UNICEF has been struggling to establish. FED hopes to have a partnership in place by the end of the 3rd quarter FY 2013. UNICEF would provide all of the funding for the volunteers while FED would provide training and stewardship. This activity would allow both UNICEF and FED to reach a larger population of young farmers in Liberia.

On June 1-15 a range of activities took place underpinned by FED’s aim to improve food security in Liberia.

Progress in UDP site preparation ramped up between June 1-15 and transplanting of rice in six 20×20 sites has been completed on schedule (see cover photo). Nimba County Manager Horace Yansine and representatives from the FED Rice Value Chain were pleased to facilitate a USAID visit to one UDP site in Nimba on June 13.

Two goat shelters were completed during this period in Bong and work is underway to complete the remaining shelters in Lofa and Nimba in late June and early July. At the beginning of the month STTA Livestock Policy Specialist Dr. Kwaku Agyemang presented his livestock policy documents to the MOA, this is the first document of its kind to be reviewed by the (soon to be finalized) Liberian National Agricultural Policy Hub the policy document made recommendations on the market impact on the import of goats and veterinary pharmaceuticals.

A market linkaging event was held in Ganta, Nimba on June 14. Fifty (30 males and 20 females) farmers, aggregators, transporters and caterers participated in the event and were informed of the ArcelorMittal market opportunity. FED in collaboration with Building Markets organized the event aimed at enabling producers and aggregators to supply locally produced agricultural products for steel mining company catering services throughout Liberia.

261 Agri-business textbooks were distributed to FED selected Community Colleges; these books will serve as essential resources to students and academics. Further distribution is scheduled for the rest of the month.

FED STTA Larry Tweed arrived on June 13 and will be supporting input supply activities particularly focusing on rolling out the voucher program to FED farmer beneficiaries in partnership with selected agro-input dealers throughout the months of June and July.