After successful activities in the Ivory Coast and Guinea, a Europe-based non-governmental organization (NGO) has introduced a new method of farming in Liberia designed to produce fish and rice on a regular basis.
A press release from the NGO said the European Commission (EU) is funding a new food security project based in Gbarnga, Bong County. The project, Development of Sustainable Inland Fish Farming to Achieve Food Security in Rural Liberia, will be implemented by Association for Fish Farming Development in Africa (APDRA-F), a French NGO specialized in fish farming development all over Africa and its local partner NGO, Catalyst Liberia Incorporated.
This new project will carry out activities in Bong, Nimba, Lofa and Grand Gedeh counties. It aims at training farmers to develop fish farming activities with their own means in order to improve food security in Liberia in producing fresh fish locally in a sustainable way.
APDRA-F will work closely with the Bureau of National Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that all activities will be in line with national aquaculture development plans and to exchange their expertise in implementing fish farming development projects.
In addition, the Bureau of Fisheries will monitor the project and will be involved in key activities such as the steering committees and exchange trips to Guinea.
APDRA-F already implemented similar projects in Ivory Coast and Guinea which led to the building of capacities for more than a thousand fish farmers in forested areas of these two countries. To date, these fish farmers produce fish and rice on a regular basis and do not rely on any external support to continue to develop their activities.
The Liberian project will build on the Guinean experience to help Liberian farmers to achieve fish farming by themselves.
APDRA-F will coordinate with other EU-funded food security projects (Concern, Welt Hunger Hilfe, Care) in Lofa, Grand Gedeh, Gbarnga and even in Monrovia to improve local fish production.
This is a three-year project, running until the end of 2012, and the total cost is estimated at 1.3 million Euros. The project will target at least 100 farmers to develop fish farming activities within their farms.
Liberian Observer