By Christopher Fahn

The Ministry of Agriculture Liberia and the World Bank Liberia County Office have begun the Mid Term Review (MTR) of the Rural Economic Transformation Project, (RETRAP) in Monrovia. The activity kicked off with a courtesy call on the Minister of Agriculture Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah at his Congo Town office on Monday September 30, 2024. The team also visited the Ministry of Public Works (MPW), and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) The MFDP was represented by Assistant Ministers Henry Yanquoi and Alice Williams of the Departments of Economy Policy and External Resources and Debt Management respectively. The overall objective of the mission is to conduct an in-depth assessment of the project to inform corrective measures for timely and impactful results.

On day two of the MTR, the RETRAP team presented an update to the Minister of Agriculture and his lieutenants, noting the significant impact the project has made in the lives of smallholder farmers and agribusiness actors. RETRAP’s Operations Manager Tarnue Jeke made the presentation.

Minister Nuetah called on all the participants of the MTR to have an opened mind during the review process and ensure that the realignments that will be done are in support of the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP) which was recently launched by the national government. “We have a task to develop the agriculture sector under our new national plan. It is project like the RETRAP that will drive the plan to where we want to go. I am counting on each of us here to ensure that the decisions we make during the next few weeks are in line with this plan that will drive the sector and improve our economy. This is a key deliverable for the national government, and the president is counting on us”, he said.

Until 18th October, the MTR will review project implementation progress across all project components, including status of the implementation of the Liberia Agriculture Commercialization Fund (LACF), and support to matching grant windows to ensure that the project is on track to achieve its project development objectives. It will confirm the alignment of the project with Liberia’s new National Agricultural Development Plan (2024-2030). The review includes technical presentations and discussions, as well as field visits to project sites.

The review will also identify and prioritize the matching grants resources in support of critical growth
segments of the targeted value chains, hold dialogue with key government officials on the progress achieved and prioritize areas for restructuring, including the reallocation of project resources to timely achieve impactful results. At the end of the mission, a draft Mid-term Review Report will be prepared and discussed with the government.

The RETRAP, which seeks to develop or enhance competitiveness and market access through productive alliances as well as strengthening agri-marketing and engaging in road infrastructure investments, targets 60,000 beneficiaries in the casava, rubber, vegetable, pig, and poultry value chains. Under an additional financing arrangement, the project is also supporting actors of the rice value chain.

The project has so far supported over 19,000 farmers in various value chains and has provided investment grants to 67 cooperatives and agribusinesses for the improvement of their activities.