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South-South Cooperation

Project

Summary of Activities of South-South Cooperation Project in Liberia

Liberia

South-South Cooperation Project ...

Contributing to Liberia’s Food Security

Monrovia - Liberia November 2012

By Li Zhi South-South Cooperation

Coordinator

S ince the Chinese South-South Cooperation (SSC) team arrived

in Liberia on June 3rd

, lots of work have done under the oversight leadership of the Chinese Embassy in Liberia, with close coordination of all sides (Government of Liberia and FAO) concerned.

Liberian agro-products are high in price and insufficient in quan-tities and varieties. In order to supply our needs and establish production demonstration sites for training, the Chinese team members made con-certed efforts to establish standard vegetable gardens. Up to now, we have established four standard production demonstration sites of Chinese and local vegetable varie-ties, with the total area of more than half a hectare. Because the crops grow well, we have attracted more

than 500 local technicians and farmers to our vegetable gardens for visiting and learning. The Teams have also undertaken the following: (1 ) Rec la im was t e l ands i n Center Songhai Duty Station (2) Level land at CARI Duty Station (3) Reclaim wastelands at Klay Station (4) Make grass ashes for potassium at CARI Duty Station (5) High stan-dard demonstration site in CARI.

Since our Chinese team members arrived at their duty stations, we started to collect basic data about the climate, agricultural production level, agro-product market, income of local farmers, irri-gation system and the actual demand of local cooperants through the field visit and full consultation with all stakeholders. We spent nearly one month to visit 1-3 villages around each duty station and interviewed more than 100 persons in each duty station. Based on the information, each expert and technician com-

pleted his own survey report and one-year work plan.

In order to achieve the objective

of the project, we applied the following

methods to do our (1) In CARI Chi-nese sub-teams cooperate with Longping High-tech Company (a Chi-nese company), to construct a new vegetable garden and they provide the power-tiller and some chemical fertilizer to us. We established 0.4ha of high-yielding vegetable garden without any daily laborer. (2) Focus on practical skills. We train local farmers and technicians mainly in the field. At first we Chinese demonstrate the skill and explain it and then they follow. (3) Make better use of local available materials to do more things. For example, the Chinese sub-team in Centre Songhai has started the rice-fish production, we use palm leaves to make a temporary shelter for seedling and use grass and pig manure to make

compost as a substitute for chemical

fertilizer.

Liberians and Chinese teams at CARI duty station in Bong County

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L iberian agriculture prac-titioners assigned with

the South-South Coopera-tion teams say they are thankful to the Govern-

ments of Liberia, China, as well as FAO for introducing the project. The Chinese have introduced new crops and better planting practices that are being emulated by Liberians.

In order to help boost the country‟s national food security program, the experts and technicians assigned in Klay (Bomi County), are engaging more Liberians especially univers i ty agr icul ture graduates and local farmers in improving agricultural production in corps, animals husbandry, fishery, rice and vegetables production. Richard Kolleh, one of the beneficiaries said: „„Despite the language difficulty with the Chinese, this project has motivated me in agriculture especially

in the area of fishery. I am grateful to China and our government‟‟ He empha-sized that agriculture is a wonderful career area that

can empower more people to produce their own food for self-sufficiency leading to poverty reduction. Speaking further, Peter Gbawoquiya, who specializes in growing

vegetables, said: “I have passion in doing agriculture to grow more food and this Chinese-funded project is just right.‟‟ Mr. Gbawo-quiya appealed for the extension of the SSC program to enable other Liberians benefit. George Weefa, fishery technician, hopes that the project will significantly contribute to household food security through the building of skills of men, women, young Liberian technicians, and farmers through demonstration in areas of rice, vegetable, livestock, fish, agro-machinery, and

water conser-vation.

At the Center Song-

hai Liberia Initiative

(CSLI), the Chinese experts

have constructed mounds and

laid out large acreage of land

spaces for the purpose of

planting Chinese and Liberian

lowland rice including

Chinese hybrid and Liberian

inbred variety.

CSLI, located in

Bensonville, is one of the duty

stations where Liberian

agricultural graduates and local

farmers are working alongside

the Chinese. The Liberians are

acquiring practical skills in

fishery, piggery, and rice and

vegetable seeds planting

methodology.

In working with the

Chinese, the Liberians are also

learning other practices such as

site selection, seeds and

nursery preparation, transplant-

ing and water control. The

Chinese rice seeds will also be

used for animals feeds and

seed multiplication.

Chen Liangyuan,

Chinese team leader at CSLI

said: “Because we have re-

ceived enormous support from

the government and FAO, we

intend going beyond CSLI

station to also work with

potential farmers.”

Michae l Aquay, a

Liberian, described the South-

South Cooperation (SSC) Pro-

ject as “positive for Liberia.”

He noted that since they started

working with the Chinese, they

have learned new farming

methods. He said the training

sessions consist of both indoor

theory and outdoor field

practices.

He emphasized the

relevance of the methodology:

“During indoor sessions there is

an active exchange of ideas,

drawing of field models,

identification of species and soil

content analysis. Outdoor

sessions focus on aspects

practical, wherein fields are laid

out based on classroom dia-

grams. The SSC project will

help in boosting food security.”

help make Liberia self-

sufficient in food.’’

M e a n w h i l e , t h e

Chinese are constructing of fish

ponds at CSLI for the produc-

tion of various fish species

such as cat fish and tilapia.

Skills acquired by Liberians

will be applied when Chinese

experts exit.

South-South Project “Positive for Liberia” - Extension Workers, farmers Laud Gov’t, FAO, China

Summary of Activities of South-South Cooperation Project in Liberia

Laid out field at CARI

Chinese and Liberians at CSLI

Sweet pepper shrubs at Klay Site in Bomi County

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Chinese Experts Safeguard Mission Purpose N early six months after

taking up assignments in Liberia, Chinese agro exerts have expressed satisfaction over the smooth working rela-tionship with their Liberian colleagues. The head of the agro experts, speaking upon arrival in June, said they were committed to their mission purpose - contribute to Libe-ria‟s food security needs. Li Zhi, Coordinator of the South-South 24-member team, said: “This Sino-Liberia South-South Project is aimed at safeguarding the Global Food Security. We will coop-erate with counterparts in the production of rice, vegetables, animal and aquatic products and also in agricultural mechanization, train local farmers and technicians and improve the agriculture tech-nology.” In October, Mr Zhi was emphatic about the achieve-ments of the team. “Right now as I speak the experts and their counterparts are doing

well. We will bring some pro-duce for display on UN Day.” Th i r ty-e ighty (38) young Liberian agricultural entrepreneurs, including re-cent university graduates and extension staff are currently working with the Chinese in the application of modern methods of fishery, animal husbandry, crop and tuber

production, and agro machin-ery operations/maintenance. Under the Standard Tripartite Agreement, the technicians including agrono-mists, agro machinery opera-tors, aquaculture specialists, animal experts, horticulturists, engineers, and advisors arrived in Liberia 3rd June 2012 to perform technical, knowledge-sharing, and skills-

transfer roles with Liberians for the next two years. FAO, the Governments of Liberia, and the People‟s Republic of China in November 2011 signed the US$ 1, 213, 168m project titled “Technical Assis-tance Under the South-South Cooperation (SSC) with the Government of the People‟s Republic of China.

Summary of Activities of South-South Cooperation Project in Liberia

U nder the South-South Project with the Government of Liberia (GoL),

the China, and FAO, a corps of Liberian agricultural producers are benefiting from the transfer of knowledge through the application of modern agricultural technology and essential training required for Liberia‟s development. Liberian field technicians working with Chinese have expressed profound admiration for the presence of the Chi-nese among them and want the project extended to Grand Kru, River Gee, and other low-crop producing areas to assist in improving food production. Theophilus Darwolo, young Liberian, said they started with vegetable production and later moved to fishery, livestock, and rice. Mr. Darwolo appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture to provide local rice and vegetable seed varieties to be tested alongside the Chinese seeds for the purpose of comparing growth and yields. He also asked for the project to be extended to counties where rice and vegetable production are low. Expressing her ardent desire to remain with the experts and technicians

to the very end, Maima Sirleaf said: „„Agriculture is an extension work. I fell happy being a part of the team here to improve my knowledge with the Chinese. I hope this project goes to other counties.” The Liberians are enthusiastic about teaming up with their Chinese broth-ers for all the knowledge, be it practical and theoretical skills. They said through their interactions with the Chinese, they are now on the path of specializing in one of the ongoing activities so that when the Chinese tenure of service is over,

the Liberians will ably continue the agricul-tural activities to boost food security in the country. The Chinese are assigned the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) and Tumutu in Bong County, Klay in Bomi County, and Center Songhai Liberia Initiative in Montserrado County respectively. The Chinese team leader based in Tumutu, Yang Jinping, said: “Since we came, we have been engaged in four fields: rice, fishery, livestock, and vegetable production.”

Liberians Appreciate Chinese Experts . . .want project extended to reach low crop producing counties

Klay Site: Mr Zhi (center) with Chinese and Liberians working on the SSC Project

Chinese experts in Monrovia in June just

before deployment

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For Details on the work of FAO, please contact:

Mr. Jean-Alexandre Scaglia FAO Representative in Liberia

2nd Floor - H & G Plaza - Sekour Toure Ave Mamba Point, Monrovia

E-mail: JeanAlexandre.Scaglia@fao.org

C hinese experts working on the Government of Liberia, Govern-

ment of China, and the FAO-supported South-South Corporation Project in Bomi, Montserrado, and Bong Counties are introducing new crops, ideas, and methodologies in Liberian agriculture. “The aim here is to introduce diversity for increased production in agriculture. Our Liberian counterparts (extension workers) are practicing in the field

through demo sites what they were told in class,” said Chen Liangyuan, team leader at Center Songhai Liberia Initia-tive near Bensonville, Montserrado County. Mr Liangyuan continued: “We have brought new varieties of crops from China: sweet pepper, seedless water melon, hybrid lowland rice, string beans, mung beans, cucumber, sponge gourd, and pumpkins.” The Chinese agro expert

said Liberia‟s climate was right for a vibrant agriculture and they were teach-ing Liberians how to work with whatever available materials they‟ve got. “We have introduced new ways of producing organic fertilizer using a concoction of decayed pig dung, grass, and ash and applying them at different points of the planting cycle.”

In the absence of pesticides, the Chinese have also introduced the noctur-nal (nighttime) insect attracter using a bucket full of water and a lit electric bulb to attract insects into the water where the pests get drown instead of destroying the crops. “These insects also destroy crops at night but once the light bulb is shinning they are attracted to the light. Seeing the shadow of the bright light under the water in the bucket, the insects want to reach the shadow below the water, that‟s when they get drown and crops are saved.” Liberian extension workers confirmed the introduction of new ideas by the Chinese. “We don‟t throw urine away here anymore. We collect the pepe water and use it to fertilize the soil. The whole idea is about fermentation during which the urine is collected in buckets overtime and kept for about a week for the acid content to reduce. A bit of water is then added and applied to nursery and transplanted fields. It works fine, more like fertilizer,” said Peter D. Gbawoquiya of the Klay site in Bomi County.

Summary of Activities of South-South Cooperation Project in Liberia

Chinese Introducing New Ideas, Crops Working with Liberian agro entrepreneurs, extension workers, local farmers.

T he Tumutu, CARI, Klay, and CSLI are sites where the Chinese coop-

erants are assigned, daily transferring knowledge to Liberians and training them in agro-machinery operations and maintenance, fishery, vegetable and rice production, and how to apply fertil-izer to gardens and irrigation equip-ments for farming. Wang Anhua, Chinese team leader at CARI, said: „„We are working with Liberians to improve agriculture together through knowledge transfer.‟‟ Makanvee Barwee, a gradu-ate of the Booker Washington Institute Accelerated Program, said: „„I am very happy about being here learning new

ideas in the vegetable field of agriculture.‟‟ She applauded Gov-ernment of Libe-ria, FAO, and the China for the opportunity to benefit f rom such a rewarding program. She hoped to acquire new skills in vegetable production to enable her grow her own food and teach other Liberians become better farmers. Zubah F. Gorvego, National

Coordinator of the South-South Project, admonished the Liberian farmers and extension workers to remain focused.

Produced By: FAO (Liberia) Communications

Tel. +231776737521 November 2012

Visit us @: www.fao.org http://coin.fao.org/cms/world/liberia/Home.html

SSC project empowering Liberians

Insect attracter with a suspended electric bulb

at Center Songhai

Liberians at the Tumutu site