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By LAEJN Editorial Team
As part of quest to help reshape the trajectory of Liberia’s agriculture sector, His Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has called on the Liberian government to match rhetoric with action by allocating at least 10% of the national budget to agriculture in accordance with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) commitment.
Mr. Boshe, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and now a prominent voice in Africa’s agricultural transformation, delivered this appeal during a three-day high-level mission to Liberia. Joined by senior AGRA officials, including Vice President for Technical Expertise Jonathan Said, the delegation’s agenda centers on forging strategic partnerships and finalizing Liberia’s Legacy Program—an ambitious roadmap to modernize agriculture, drive economic growth, and attract long-term investment.
At a consultative meeting with Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Boshe underscored that financial commitment is a technical requirement and a political statement of intent. “The CAADP benchmark of 10% is not arbitrary—it reflects the minimum threshold for catalyzing sectoral transformation,” he said. “Development partners and private investors take budgetary allocations seriously. When governments put money on the table, others follow.”
The implications of this advice are significant. Liberia’s agriculture sector, which employs over 60% of the population, remains undercapitalized and largely subsistence-based. Despite agriculture being central to Liberia’s food security and rural livelihood strategy, its share of the national budget has consistently fallen below CAADP’s 10% target since Liberia signed the Maputo Declaration in 2003.
Drawing on Ethiopia’s transformation under his leadership, Mr. Boshe offered a compelling case for change. “Ethiopia was once synonymous with famine. Today, it exports agricultural products and has built resilient institutions. This didn’t happen through promises; it happened because we made agriculture a national priority and invested in it.”
His remarks are especially relevant to Liberia, where efforts to reform the sector have often been thwarted by inconsistent policy implementation and weak institutional support. AGRA’s approach, which integrates technical support with policy advocacy, is designed to break this cycle.
Since March 2025, AGRA has partnered with Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture and key stakeholders to develop the Legacy Program—a comprehensive strategy to revitalize six key agricultural value chains: rice, cassava, maize, coffee, oil palm, and rubber. The program seeks to increase yields, introduce climate-smart practices, enhance market access, and attract private investment through targeted incentives and infrastructure development.
Liberia’s Legacy Program draws inspiration from similar efforts in Tanzania, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zambia, where AGRA-supported initiatives have delivered tangible results. The program will be officially unveiled at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal, later this year.
Highlighting one of the program’s unique components, Mr. Boshe offered Ethiopia’s support in promoting Liberia’s distinctive Coffee Liberica—a heritage variety with global market potential. “Ethiopia is ready to help Liberia elevate Coffee Liberica to the international stage,” he said. “We have the experience in quality control, branding, and certification to support this effort.”
Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah welcomed AGRA’s engagement, echoing the call for bold political choices. “This is the message we’ve been championing internally,” he said. “Donor support must complement, not replace, government investment. We need to lead from the front.”
AGRA’s engagement in Liberia comes at a critical juncture. With rising food prices, climate shocks, and growing youth unemployment, agriculture represents the most viable pathway to inclusive growth. Yet systemic underinvestment has kept the sector from realizing its potential.
The proposed 10% budget allocation is more than a financial goal—it is a litmus test of national resolve. Liberia’s leaders now face a choice: continue managing poverty through aid and fragmented interventions, or chart a new course where agriculture drives prosperity, resilience, and dignity.
However, Liberia’s current 1.7% budgetary allocation to agriculture falls significantly short of the investment required to initiate and sustain meaningful transformation in the sector. This level of funding is insufficient to modernize infrastructure, scale up extension services, invest in research and innovation, or provide farmers with the tools and support needed to boost productivity. It also limits the government’s ability to de-risk private investment, build resilient value chains, and respond to the increasing threats of climate change.
At its core, the agriculture sector in Liberia suffers from chronic underfinancing, which perpetuates low yields, post-harvest losses, limited access to markets, and high rural poverty rates. The Legacy Program, as envisioned, offers a transformative blueprint—but its success hinges on Liberia’s willingness to make agriculture a fiscal priority. Without a bold and sustained increase in domestic funding, the program risks becoming a well-designed plan with no engine to power its implementation.
Moreover, underfunding undermines confidence among development partners and the private sector, who often look to government allocations as a measure of seriousness and political will. Simply put, a 1.7% investment does not reflect the scale of the challenge or the ambition of the solutions proposed. To achieve food security, generate employment, reduce imports, and unlock the full potential of Liberia’s vast agricultural landscape, a structural shift in budgetary priorities is essential—and urgent.
If the government responds with decisive budgetary action and robust implementation, AGRA’s support could catalyze a new era for Liberia’s rural economy—one rooted in productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability.
