Posted on September, 23, 2019 at 10:25 am
The government of Liberia and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have signed a US $436,000 project to enhance animal feed production through corn production in Liberia. The project will be implemented over a period of two years. Corn, also known as maize is the grain used in poultry diets because it has good energy content and it is easy to digest. However, the procurement of corn feeds is mostly done from neighboring Guinea and Cote D’lvoire at a high cost.
According to a press release from the Ministry of internal affairs and agriculture, the project will be implemented by Government through the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Agriculture and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The project seeks to address and ensure increased and sustainable production of maize to support the production of livestock and poultry feed at an affordable cost. It is also envisaged that when corn production is increased, local feed producers will have reliable and stable supply of corn for feed production.
The release further explained that the project will also increase the profit margin of both feed producers and poultry farmers. The project document quotes an FAO data of 2013 as saying many local poultry farmers in Liberia to have challenges in poultry production due to high production cost derived from feed purchase.
According to media reports, a complete market analysis will be conducted as a mechanism to link or connect maize producers to animal feed processors units. The corn production project is also expected to become a model for the restoration of communal farming in counties and districts.
The communal farming Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO to ensure successful implementation of the project on the ground. Under the terms of the agreement, Internal Affairs Ministry will ensure that the designated parcel of land for cultivation in each locality is owned and given by the communities.
Source: Farmers Review Africa