Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) trains recruited staffs in quality Cocoa Bean Control - FrontPageAfrica

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The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) has recruited and trained technicians in quality bean control in the cocoa sector.

By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr(231886458910)-edwin.genoway@frontpageafricaonline.com

The newly trained recruited staff will be deployed to the exporters’ warehouses to ensure the quality of cocoa and coffee exports.

The training of staff is an effort to improve the quality of cocoa and coffee exports from Liberia. In past years Liberia cocoa quality has been poor due to poor training and lack of technical support, exacerbated by the war and subsequent decline in facilities.

To address this, the board of LACRA recommended recruiting short-term staff to enhance field and warehouse operations, with training support from UNIDO.

The initiative aims to prevent smuggled cocoa from affecting the country’s reputation and to ensure only high-quality produce is exported.

A good-quality cocoa bean must have a desired physical appearance and biochemical properties, which are achieved when the beans are well dried with a moisture content not exceeding 7.5%, uniform in size with a size tolerance limit of 10%, free from foreign matter, without smoky beans.

The Director General of LACRA, Christopher D. Sankolo President Joseph Boakai is committed to changing the narrative of cocoa and coffee production, with plans to reopen facilities and provide necessary support to farmers and exporters by January 2025.

He said the goal for the recruitment is to enhance technical services in the cocoa and coffee sectors.

Initial funding of US$30,000 is being allocated to jump start the process, with additional logistical costs of US$300,000 for equipment like motorbikes and computers for the train staff.
He disclosed that a proposal for US$1 million to establish nurseries nationwide and $5 million for facility rebuilding is available.

He mentioned the sustainability of funding, prompting a proposal to increase the royalty on cocoa and coffee exports from $10 to $100 per metric ton, reflecting current market prices. This increase, effective October 2024, aims to boost national contributions and support farm expansion and staff recruitment, he said.
“The President is committed to changing the narrative of cocoa and coffee production, aiming for long-term economic benefits. the President’s mandate to go beyond pre-war status and improve the cocoa and coffee sector significantly.

He stated that there are Plans to reopen other facilities by January 2023 are in place, with the need for government support and partnerships.

LACRA in Collaboration with UNIDO has provided technical and logistical support, with training phases in Bong County and further recruitment in Nimba and other counties respectively.

The LACRA boss also noted that the new staff will assist in providing necessary support to farmers and exporters, including ceilings, nurseries, and technical assistance.

“The ultimate goal is to change the perception of Liberian cocoa and coffee on the global market, enhancing the country’s economic standing,”
For his part, Dr. Charles Kwame Sackey, Chief Technical Advisor at the United Nations Industrial Development  Organization (UNIDO) explains that the initiative, funded by the Embassy of Sweden and implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture, aims to enhance the competitiveness and income of Liberia cocoa farmers.

The project focuses on improving the quality of cocoa beans for export, partnering with the Liberian Cocoa Research Institute (LACRA).

He explains that the first step involves training farmers in pre- and post-harvest conditions. Technical expertise is provided by a Ghanaian cocoa expert, with the goal of building local capacity.

Sackey noted that the project emphasizes the importance of quality, as higher quality cocoa fetches better prices around the world.

He expressed confidence in Liberia’s potential to produce high-quality cocoa with proper drying, fermenting, and technical support.

Charles furthered calls for the necessity to provide technical knowledge and support to LACRA technicians to build their capacity in the field.

“We are engaged with cocoa cooperatives to implement good agricultural practices and post-harvest analysis, facilitate training for Liberian farmers on pre-harvest and post-harvest conditions, led by the cocoa expert from Ghana,”.

He said the cocoa expert from Ghana aims to facilitate training and engage with cooperatives for economic practices and post-harvest analysis.

One of the challenges confronting the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory (LACRA) has been the lack of adequate manpower to address the huge wave of smugglings of cocoa and other agriculture commodities to neighboring countries.

In recent times, many illegal cocoa buyers have been crossing into Liberia and buying the commodity without proper documents from LACRA, an authority responsible to regulate all agricultural commodities in Liberia.

The problem persisted throughout the six years of the previous administration. But Joseph Boakai’s administration is said to be changing the narrative by its efforts in deploying more support staff of Quality Control Officers and Inspectors to the various borders of Liberia to curtail smuggling of cocoa and other agriculture commodities from Liberia.

With support from the Swedish Government, The United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO-grow2 project has been partnering with LACRA to train these temporary staff both in Ganta Nimba County and Monrovia Montserrado County.

These staff are expected to be deployed in Lofa, Bong, Nimba, and Grand Gedeh Counties. They will be responsible to ensure LACRA policies are adhered to at all entry points of Liberia and also provide quality control training for farmers and cooperatives.

Speaking at the first phase of the workshop in Ganta Nimba County, LACRA Director General, Hon. Christopher D. Sankolo, told reporters that his entity will need 5 million dollars to enhance the work of the regulatory body and restore it beyond the capacity of the defunct Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC).
Hon. Sankolo explained that the entity is doing everything within its reach to ensure that all of LACRA’s activities get back on track.

“We want to rehabilitate all our facilities across the country and build new ones where we don’t have any, to make both the cocoa and coffee industries viable,” he said.

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