Support Liberian Farmers!

Last year, The Lugar Center and ACDI/VOCA partnered on a women’s agriculture and agroforestry project in Liberia that helped the women learn to successfully grow crops and enable them to earn a living, while also protecting vulnerable forest areas in their communities. The project was the idea of the Lugar Series Class of 2016 which raised the initial seed money and has ended up being so successful that we have decided to partner for a second round of funding to build out this model by expanding it to young people in the same communities, Nimba and Grand Bassa counties, Liberia, with a specific focus on cocoa agroforestry and teaching business development skills to the next generation.

Here’s why we decided to focus on this type of agroforestry for building out our prior project: Liberia is one of the only countries in West Africa that still harbors intact blocks of tropical humid rainforests, which constitute what is left of the biodiversity hotspot known as the Upper Guinea Forest Ecosystem. All of the surrounding countries have destroyed their share of this high value biodiversity forest, of which only 15% remains. Coupled with extreme rural poverty, Liberia’s extraordinary biodiversity is under siege from poor governance, a growing population, industrial mining and logging, artisanal mining and logging, intensive bush meat hunting, and slash-and-burn agriculture. With increased capacity, young farmers will be eager to share newly acquired knowledge and skills in the greater community. By participating in biodiversity conservation through the development of cocoa agroforestry businesses 100 young farmers will build on their existing training and skill sets in community forestry to become specialized in business planning. The intent is that their cocoa agroforestry businesses become models of biodiversity conservation and economic resilience. Cocoa agroforestry systems offer ecological and economic stability in rural Liberia. Although cocoa prices fluctuate like any other agricultural commodity, there are many value-added product options that are potentially profitable: cocoa butter, cocoa oil, cocoa husks, and the cocoa used for chocolate. Cocoa plantations also produce for decades when properly maintained. When these factors are combined, a resilient, stable, and productive agroforestry system is established on the landscape. We are excited for the opportunity to support this agroforestry program in partnership with ACDI/VOCA in the coming year and hope you will join us. 

Here are some funding options for you to consider: 

·        $1,000 will engage inventory specialists to conduct five biodiversity inventories in the existing cocoa and oil palm plantations, and develop five business plans.

Goal: $5,000

·        $500 will enable 5 farmers to develop multipurpose tree nurseries for their group's plantations.

Goal: $3,000

·        $100 will engage 10 youth to conduct enrichment planting on 10 plantations.

Goal: $600

·        $75 will pay for 75 high-value timber tree seedlings and improved cocoa seedlings.

Goal: $600

·        $50 will pay for 25 high-value Non-Timber Forest Product seedlings from nurseries.

Goal: $500

·        $25 will pay for 15 radio announcements/month on the value of biodiversity conservation for cocoa and oil palm agroforestry business development in 85 communities.

Goal: $300

Total Requested Funding Amount: $10,000

Thank you for your continued support! Your contributions make what we do possible.