World Bank, IFAD Conclude Mission To Support Liberian Agriculture Projects

News in Brief: - The World Bank and IFAD recently assessed Liberia's agricultural projects, finding positive progress in financial management, outreach, and support for smallholder farmers. - Stakeholders highlighted increased access to finance, improved farming practices, and higher crop yields as key achievements. The World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently completed a technical mission to assess progress on Liberia's Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP) and the Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project (STAR-P). They reviewed project implementation, focusing on financial management, procurement, and environmental and social safeguards. After the review, stakeholders commended the projects' contributions to increasing access to finance for smallholder farmers and deploying project staff to complement extension services. It also improved project implementation and focus on gender inclusion. There was an increase in rice yield and processing capacity, enhanced farm management practices and income generation, and improved access to training and agricultural inputs. The specific goal for RETRAP, for example, was to boost competitiveness in cassava, rubber, vegetables, pig, and poultry sectors. It targeted 60,000 beneficiaries and has supported over 15,000 farmers and 67 cooperatives/agribusinesses, according to the report. Meanwhile, for STAR-P, the focus was on increasing agricultural productivity and commercialisation for smallholders in oil palm, rice, and vegetables. It aimed for 38,000 farmers and has supported over 40,900 farmers and 102 cooperatives/agribusinesses. The mission highlighted successful project implementation and expressed optimism for continued progress in supporting Liberian agriculture.