Liberia: Govt, Koica Sign U.S.$1m Deal to Empower Youth in Rice, Cassava Value Chains

What the report says

Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture and the Korea International Cooperation Agency have signed a US$1 million grant agreement aimed at training and supporting rural youth in rice and cassava production. According to the report from the Liberian Observer, the project is called “Green Jobs for Youth in Resilient Agrifood Systems” and is intended to address youth unemployment while helping Liberia reduce food imports and raise domestic staple crop output.

The initiative was signed in Monrovia on Monday and will run through 2030, starting with a pilot phase in Bong County. In Liberia, it will be carried out by the agriculture ministry and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization with KOICA funding. The article says the program is part of a wider regional approach already being used in Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Agriculture Minister J. Alexander Nuetah said the effort reflects government support for agricultural reform and youth empowerment, while KOICA’s country director suggested the pilot could be expanded if successful. FAO’s representative in Liberia said the project is meant to move young people beyond subsistence farming and into the wider agrifood chain, including processing, marketing, transport, mechanization and agribusiness.

More broadly, the agreement fits Liberia’s push to improve food security and make agriculture more attractive to younger people. The report also notes that stakeholders from youth, finance and crop-sector bodies attended the signing ceremony.