Seeds4Liberia Showcases Impact During EU Delegation Visit

^{The Seeds4Liberia project is a component of the European Union’s flagship “Team Europe Initiative on Safe and Sustainable Food Systems (TEI-SSFS) in Liberia}

The Seeds4Liberia project, an integral component of the European Union’s flagship “Team Europe Initiative on Safe and Sustainable Food Systems (TEI-SSFS) in Liberia,” recently welcomed the Program Officer and Task Manager from the EU Delegation to Liberia.

Their visit began with a roundtable discussion with the project’s implementing partners (IPs),  during which the project team provided updates on progress and key milestones. Program Officer Maria Winnubst and Task Manager Antonio Di Clemente commended the team for their accomplishments. Following the discussion, the officials visited key project sites to witness the project’s impact. They toured several project sites, including the rice breeding field, cassava screenhouse, soybean trial plots, coffee garden, and a fish field currently under reconstruction. A notable stop was a coffee farm in Sanoyea, Bong County, which is supported by the project. Interactions with local stakeholders left a strong impression on the visiting officials, who expressed confidence in the project's promising progress.

The EU-funded Seeds4Liberia initiative is designed to build resilient seed systems for rice, cassava, coffee, soybean, and fish value chains in Liberia, supporting national development strategies, such as the agriculture component of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) for 2025–2029, launched by President Joseph Boakai.

So far, the Seeds4Liberia project has transplanted 10 hectares of rice foundation seeds, distributed 267,000 coffee seedlings to farmers, refurbished and commissioned a Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponics (SAH) screenhouse, and trained about 20 extension agents. The project has also launched its internship programme, strengthening the capacity of 20 university students from across the country.

^{Project beneficiary site in Sanoyea, Bong County}

AfricaRice, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish are implementing the EU-funded initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), and the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA).  

The project aims to enhance the value chains of rice, cassava, coffee, soybeans, and fish by addressing critical challenges such as human capacity gaps and the lack of certified seed varieties. By strengthening the capacities of farmers, private seed enterprises, and government agencies, Seeds4Liberia is set to cultivate approximately 4,200 hectares and deliver substantial quantities of certified seeds and fish fingerlings throughout its duration.