Grant to fast-track animal feed production in Bong

Liberian farmers, especially those rearing animals or running poultry, say one of their major challenges is the lack of anyone or a factory that produces animal feed.

Monrovia, July 23, 2024: Animal feed producer Mr David Moore has disclosed a fast-track of his farming activities in Bong County through the Ministry of Agriculture’s Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP) and the World Bank grant.

In Bong County, Mr David Moore runs the New Vision Integrated Farming, which engages in animal feed production in agriculture.

To industrialize his farming activities, Mr. Moore explained recently that he started some construction works for a facility intended to house all equipment he has procured through a grant to process animal feed.

Moore disclosed that he received up to US$100,000 as a grant, which he has used to procure farming equipment that is being shipped to Liberia.

“And those things will come right in time. We believe it’s a big jump for us,” he said.

“We like to say thank you to the government in the first place and the World Bank as well,” Mr. Moore explained.

Without the grant, he said it would have taken him more time to be successful, using his meager resources for the farm.

“But with the grant, we got a jump. It fast-tracked our activities. We would have laid that foundation in that place for several years, all by ourselves. We haven’t gone anywhere, but we’ve got the grant, you see how much work we’re doing?” he noted.

Based on his market survey, Mr. Moore suggested that many people in Liberia will need animal feed.

Due to limited food production for animals in Liberia, Moore said the protein source from animals in the country is limited.

“We don’t have feed for animals in this country, and there are [a] lot of people who are now involved with animal production, but they can’t make their way out,” he explained.

According to Mr. Moore, some farmers can’t make a profit because they don’t know how to feed the animals and cannot access animal feed.
Upon completion of the ongoing construction and the functioning of his procured equipment, Mr. Moore’s weekly animal feed production target is 20 metric tons.

“We want to get involved in animal feed production that will cover up almost all of the animals that people grow in Liberia, such as the poultry, which is the bird, the pig, and fish as well,” said Mr. Moore.

However, he noted that the current project is limited to poultry and piggery feed production, leaving out fish because that’s how it was designed.

He hoped to talk to the project to include fish in the animal feed production.

The apparent lack of animal feed producers in Liberia has posed a serious challenge to farmers who raise animals, run piggeries, and raise poultry, among other activities.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) continues to intervene through the RETRAP, which gives grants to boost value chains in rice, oil palm, horticulture (growing plants), animal rearing, and poultry farming to encourage increased agricultural productivity and commercialization.