By Kruah Thompson
Scores of Liberian youth organizations have ended a day-long dialogue here with ActionAid Liberia under the auspices of ActionAid Denmark, to seek input from young people on promoting Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
During the policy dialogue held Tuesday, January 4, 2022, at the “Youth Bridge” office in Paynesville, participants said the CAADP is Africa’s policy framework for agricultural transformation, wealth creation, food security, and nutrition, amongst others.
According to them, it is intended to examine the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, and ensure that the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Agriculture develops a policy framework backed by financial and technical resources to support youth smallholder farmers and those engaged in the agriculture value-chain process in Liberia.
They noted that in Maputo, Mozambique, the African Union (AU) Summit in 2003 made the first declaration on the CAADP as an integral part of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
The CAADP process represents an important commitment by African governments to promote agriculture investment, increase support to smallholder farmers, and improve nutrition and food security for the continent.
The Biennial Review Process takes place at three levels that include National (country level), sub-regional (ECOWAS) and regional (Africa Region) and presents an opportunity for young people to influence, participants said.
They also highlighted that the U.S. Department of International Trade Report for 2020 shows that agriculture, including forestry, is the primary livelihood for more than 60 percent of Liberia’s population while accounting for 36 percent of the country’s 0.19 real gross domestic product (GDP).
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“It provides sustenance for many households engaging in cassava, rubber, rice, oil palm, cocoa, or sugarcane production”, the report detailed.
Meanwhile, participants have recommended that while public expenditure in agriculture is still a challenge, it is imperative to strengthen action and strategies that will increase public agricultural investment and allow access to funds without forgoing a lot of complicated processes.
They added that the Government of Liberia must allot 10 percent of the national budget for agriculture investment outside recurrent expense.
In separate remarks, the Speaker of the Mano River Union Youth Parliament in Liberia Mohamed A. Massalay said, the only way a nation can be fully independent is to have adequate food security.
Also, the Federation of Liberian Youth deputy speaker commended ActionAid Liberia and called for full collaboration to obtain outcomes of the dialogue. Editing by Jonathan Browne
