BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – Hundreds of farms in Grand Bassa could receive seed rice from the Ministry of Agriculture, according to the Diahn-Blae Statutory District superintendent, Solomon Grimes Davis. The distribution of rice hinges on the government getting support from donors.

Davis spoke to The Bush Chicken from his office on Wednesday and said he had received information from the Communal Farming Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs about the upcoming benefit to farmers.

He said over 168 active farms from both Kporkon and Worr Administrative Districts have already been registered to receive the seed rice when the distribution process begins across the district. Moreover, personnel are still in the field registering more communal farm and placing them into categories such as active and inactive farms.

Davis said the distribution of seed rice among farmers in the district and the county at large is welcoming news that will bring relief to farmers.

“To get seed rice has been very tough all over,” he said, noting that the move by the government to distribute seed rice among farmers will encourage more people to venture into the agricultural sector the next farming season.

Davis estimated that communal farms may need about 16 to 18 tons of seeds rice and that many citizens had already begun brushing the farms expecting that the government and international partners would come to their aid in terms of providing seedlings, equipment, and fertilizers.

He believes that once Liberians invest in farming and produce more food, the country can become self-sufficient and there would be no need to import rice from the rest of the world.

At the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the assistant minister for Communal Farming, Ayouba Fofana, confirmed via mobile phone that the ministry had received listings of farmers from seven counties, but said the government did not have enough money to proceed with all seven counties.

“We asked the counties to submit names of communal farms, not individual farms,” he said. “Of the seven counties, they have reduced it to three due to the financial space. They couldn’t get the seed rice on time. They couldn’t get what they expected, so we should just start from there. We will manage to make it four, but actually from now as I speak to you, we are still negotiating whether Grand Bassa will be part of it.”

He said by next week, it will become clearer if Grand Bassa will be one of the beneficiaries. However, he pointed out that the government was still seeking more support from donors to ensure that more counties can participate.

“If no way, then they will let us know so that we can tell our people to get prepared for the next season,” Fofana added.

Featured photo by Sampson David