Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Activity Highlights for December 1st-15th, 2015
- On December the 1st the President of Liberia signed into law Executive Order #73 drafted and supported by USAID FED. This Executive Order supports the temporary removal of customs tariffs on essential inputs for agricultural value-chains. It builds on the successful implementation of Executive Orders #30 & #64 which removed import tariffs on 24 categories of inputs used by domestic agriculture. This effort was supported by USAID FED after the working group decided that Executive Order #64 was not adequate in its implementation to significantly help small holder farmers import agricultural inputs and needed to be revamped. For Executive Order # 64 to be effective, a greater focus on agriculture and not on encouraging logging activities was considered necessary. USAID FED subsequently produced a more precise executive order that identifies specific tariffs to be removed according to the ECOWAS harmonized tax code.
- On Tuesday, December 1, 2015 USAID FED Science Laboratory trainer consultant, Mr. Emmnauel Lincoln began a four-day training at Booker Washington Institute and Grand Bassa Community College. Participants of the training comprised one senior lab technician, one soil science instructor and an assistant lab technician at each of the institutions. The objective of the training is to work with the soil science lab technicians at the four CoEs (BWI, GBCC, LCCC and NCCC) to help strengthen their capacity in both laboratory and field settings.
- On November 8 – 9, 2015, a two day Goat Management Training was conducted by USAID FED Goat Specialist Morris Karnuah at LCCC Goat Shelter/Demonstration site. The training strengthened the capacity of LCCC farm technicians to administer basis treatment/first aid to 19 goats in the Shelter. The training targeted four main participants: farm/goat technicians, the farm manager and animal science instructors.
- Several of youth groups harvested African eggplant and cabbage during the reporting period. Koon Koon harvested 130kg of African Eggplant. Because of the hot sun, the crops are declining. Gbajina Town harvested 260kg of African Eggplant and also harvested 90kg of cabbage due to the hot sun there was a low harvest. Paul Napah harvested 15kg of cabbage and also harvested a 22.5kg half bag of eggplant. Mamia Morris harvested 15kg of eggplant and also harvested 10kg of pepper.
- USAID FED and the Central Agricultural Institute signed a MoU for the establishment of a Nucleus Breeding Herd at CARI, Bong County. Under the MoU, USAID FED agrees to the following:
- Assess the livestock quarantine facility to determine the conversion specifications, material and civil works requirements.
- Hire a firm to undertake conversion works at the facility, to include procurement of required construction materials as per specifications of the assessment.
- Provide CARI with technical assistance to develop a nucleus breeding herd manual and to train CARI staff assigned to the facility on the nucleus breeding herd management.