Liberia: The President needs to know that more than US$30 million was spent to subsidize rice imports rather than investing in agriculture

.... It is time for President Weah to know that his administration, nearing its sixth year, has spent more than US$30 million in the last five years to subsidize rice imports rather than investing in agriculture to make the country self-sufficient in food production. Is President George Manneh Weah not aware that the price of a 25kg bag of rice has nearly tripled? Is he not aware that such an increase has compounded the misery of millions of Liberians who live in vulnerable homes, facing food insecurity? We ask these questions because the President's only response to the country's ongoing food crisis is a veiled denial that the country's staple food was not in short supply. This is contrary to the evidence on hand which shows that the price of a bag of rice has risen from US$13 to $15 to now US$30. It is even more expensive in rural Liberia, threatening the lives of millions, while the country's most vulnerable do not have the luxury of time. "We need not always listen to the ...