Cocoa farmers to benefit from improved seedlings in Liberia

More than 1,500 smallholder farmers in southeast Liberia are to benefit from improved cocoa seedlings as part of efforts to boost the efficient production of the commodity and improve farmers' livelihoods. Each farmer will receive a minimum of 400 seedlings. Under the Cocoa Value Chain Development Program (COVADEP), Solidaridad in collaboration with private cocoa growers, will be supplying 600,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers at different locations in Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties at a small fee. Since 2018, Solidaridad began training farmers in Liberia in good agricultural practices to help them improve their productivity. New cocoa farmers are supported to diversify their farms by also planting food crops such as cassava, plantain, banana and vegetables as they prepare their lands for cocoa cultivation. Presently, about 40,000 smallholder farmers depend on cocoa production for income in Liberia. The COVADEP program seeks to improve the situation by supporting more ...