Transcript An overview of the national Agricultural Policy

An overview of the national
Agricultural Policy & implementation
of ECOWAS CAADP Liberia
By
Assistant Prof. Leroy W. Cegbe,
WRTCAF/UL
An Overview of the National
Agricultural Policy of Liberia
• The government of Liberia has prepared three
important agricultural policy documents since
2006
• The Statement of Policy Intent for the
Agricultural Sector of 2006, the 2008 National
Food Security and Nutrition Strategy (NSFNS),
and the 2009 Food Agriculture Policy and
Strategy (FAPS).
• The Statement of Policy Intent for the Agricultural Sector was an
interim measure that envisioned the holistic development of
agriculture into a sustainable, diversified, income generating,
modernized, and competitive sector well-integrated into
domestic and international markets.
• The Statement of Policy Intent also recognized the necessity of
crafting effective land administration, flexible land use planning
approaches, adaptive sustainable land management practices,
and other improvements.
• The key objective of the NFSNS is to make certain
that “all Liberians have reliable access to the food
they need and are able to utilize that food to live
active and healthy lives.”
• It seeks to accomplish this goal by addressing
four separate dimensions of food security:
availability, access, utilization, and vulnerability.
• Finally, the NFSNS calls for enabling factors
such as sufficient human capacity, improved
knowledge on household food security, and
strengthened community-level actions.
• The FAPS was developed within the context of
the Lift Liberia PRS and the global
developments as it relates to food insecurity
• It identifies specific sector and sub-sector policies
and strategies that will be implemented to
revitalize and strengthen the food and agriculture
sector and to reduce food insecurity.
• The specific objectives of FAPS’ pro-equity stance
are improved food and nutrition security,
enhanced competitiveness and market linkages,
and capacity building.
Liberia Agriculture Sector Investment
Program
• To improve food and nutrition security, FAPS
advocates additional investment in food production
as per the Liberian response to the food crisis.
• The response strategy identified actions on three
fronts:
• 1. Mitigating the impacts, as far as possible, of
domestic price rises and ensuring consistent supply;
• 2. Maintaining access to food and improved
nutritional well-being for vulnerable populations
through safety nets; and
• 3. Promoting rapid domestic food production
through the use of technology and innovation.
• Liberian agriculture comprises food and tree
crops, fisheries, and livestock.
• Rice and cassava are the main food crops, and
rubber, oil palm, and cocoa are the dominant
export oriented tree crops.
Implementation of ECOWAS CAADP in
Liberia
• The MOA is the GOL’s central policy-making
body, and is responsible for promoting
agricultural development and regulating the
sector.
• In 2008, the GOL commenced a focused
transition from humanitarian assistance to
early recovery and development following 14
years of conflict.
• The GOL considers a functional and vibrant
“inclusive” agriculture sector critical to the
consolidation of peace and to economic growth
and development.
• However, Liberia was affected in FY 2008/2009 by
the international food price crisis.
• In response to the challenges posed by the crisis,
the MOA took a leadership role in the rural
sector in accordance with GOL policies.
• However, the effectiveness of the agency is
currently limited by several constraints including
the need to redefine role and functions,
restructure departments to support the
decentralization process, and rebuild technical
services as per the institutional assessment
completed in 2009
• In 2008/2009, the MOA’s staff was estimated
to be 350.
• In order to support the PRS’ emphasis on
smallholders and to expand support services
beyond the central level, the MOA was
authorized in FY 2008/2009 to double its
budget from US$3.5 million to US$7.0 million
to be able to expand its staff level to 500 in
2010–2012.
• While the MOA is moving forward and recovering from
years of neglect, various institutional weaknesses remain
and include the following:
•
• The MOA is understaffed technically and overstaffed
administratively.
• Seventy-five percent of the MOA’s staff is in Monrovia,
and 25% is in the rural areas.
• In many counties, the MOA has between five to ten staff,
and the ministry is absent in many districts. For example,
some districts have no MOA extension staff and their
functions have been replaced de facto by NGOs.
•
Many existing staff are computer illiterate
and over 50 years in age.
• Staff lack some of the means with which to
operate (e.g., intermittent power supply,
intermittent access to e-mail), while extension
agents are constrained by various issues (e.g.,
limited mobility, low salaries, and inadequate
technical knowledge and skills)
• For example, some districts have no MOA
extension staff and their functions have been
replaced de facto by NGOs.
• Many existing staff are computer illiterate
and over 50 years in age.
• Staff lack some of the means with which to
operate (e.g., intermittent power supply,
• intermittent access to e-mail), while extension
agents are constrained by various issues (e.g.,
limited mobility, low salaries, and inadequate
technical knowledge and skills).
• Liberia’s Agriculture Sector Investment
Program(LASIP) outlines the broader aspects of
the countries’ economy, the structure and
performance of the agricultural sector and later
provides the roadmap towards achieving the
vision for the agricultural sector.
• The LASIP is a comprehensive five-year
investment plan.
• LASIP outlines and provides indicative costs for
the activities necessary for Liberia to achieve
their target of 4.1% annual agricultural growth
rate, contributing to the required 9.4%nonagricultural sector annual growth rate and 6.1%
annual GDP growth as was agreed and set out in
Liberia’s CAADP Compact.
• The LASIP has four broad programs: 1. Food
and Nutrition Security with 6 sub programs;
• 2. Competitive Value Chains and Market
Linkages with 4 sub programs; 3. Institutional
Development with 6 sub-programs and 4.
Land and Water Development with 4 sub
programs.
• The Liberia Agriculture Sector Investment
Program (LASIP) was formulated within the
• broader context of the country’s Poverty
Reduction Strategy; the Food and Agriculture
Policy and Strategy; and the Integrated Water
Resource Management Policy.
• The detailed elements within these policy
strategies are consistent and align with vision,
goals and objectives of CAADP.
• The LASIP document shows that great
attention has been paid to ECOWAS, CAADP
and Pillar documents, the CAADP
Implementation Guide, and their inputs and
principle have been carefully assimilated by
the country team, to produce the best
possible plan. (AUC/NEPAD Review of the
Liberia Investment Plan)
• All the main components of the LASIP document
are structured as recommended by ECOWAS and
in line with Post Compact Review Guide.
• The detailed programs in the LASIP reflect the
national priorities and programs areas articulated
in the Liberia’s CAADP Compact.
• The programs clearly respond to the challenges
and constraints identified in stocktaking analysis.
• The 4 programs and subprograms of LASIP are
aligned to the known challenges of
agricultural sectors in Africa focusing on the
entire value chain.
• The programs have interventions that relate to
supply-side constraints of increasing
agricultural production and productivity and
which relate to CAADP Pillar 4.
• These programs are also cognizant of the
environment and natural resources especially
issues to deal with water and land management,
which also relate to CAADP Pillar 1.
• The investment plan recognizes that responding
to supply side constraints by increasing
production is not sufficient for guaranteeing food
security and therefore proposes food security
programs.
• The details of the adequacy of how these
respond to details of CAADP Pillar specific
issues are articulated in section seven of LASIP.
Table: Summary of LASIP For 2011 –
2015(5-years program, US$ Millions
Program
Total cost of LASIP
(1)
Already Funded (2)
Funding Gap
Program 1. Food &
Nutrition Security
421.9
113.8
308.1
Program 2.
Competitive Value
Chains & Market
Linkages
303.73
51.73
252
Program 3.
Institutional
development
118.4
6.9
111.9
Program 4. Land
and Water
Development
947.7
175
772.3
Source: LASIP
Report (2010)
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