GBARNGA, Bong – The World Food Programme has organized a price monitoring training to better equip staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services to monitor the prices of commodities at markets across the country.

Over 30 participants from across the country participated in the two-day training in Gbarnga, Bong, which began on May 16.

A WFP press statement said the training targeted staff engaged in the collection, analysis, and reporting of market data.

That information is published in a monthly price monitoring bulletin, which the WFP said was relevant to universities, development and regional partners, and businesses.

“It is important to better communicate, improve the contents of the monthly market monitoring bulletins, and strengthen partnerships and networks,” the press statement added.

The training was also funded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Tarnue Koiwou, the acting director of food and security nutrition at the Agriculture Ministry, informed participants at the start of the training.

While the WFP and other partners have been helping the government to establish its market information system, Koiwou noted, “We must sustain it and make price monitoring work well for Liberia.”

The WFP’s vulnerability analysis and mapping officer, Emmanuel Anderson, praised the government for its enduring partnership with the U.N. agency on price monitoring activities.

Anderson said WFP’s work in Liberia is carefully aligned to the priorities of the government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.

“WFP has a global mandate to support some of the most vulnerable members of society with different social protection interventions,” he said.

The WFP said the monitoring program currently covers 23 markets, with approximately 20 food commodities and other non-food items being monitored. This includes markets in Foya, Lofa; Saclepea, Nimba; Barclayville, Grand Kru; and Monrovia. The process involves 27 data collection personnel and enumerators from LISGIS field offices across the country.

However, neither LISGIS nor the Agriculture Ministry have recent price monitoring data on their websites.

Featured photo courtesy of WFP Liberia