cocoa

It's not often that I get to leave Monrovia, so I was thrilled when I was invited to go on a field trip to Lofa County. Counties are the largest sub-national administrative division in Liberia - equivalent to states in the US. Lofa County, in particular is known for (at least) two things. First, along with Nimba and Bong Counties, Lofa is one of the country's three "bread basket" counties. Second, Lofa County is known for having been a hotbed of rebel activity during Liberia's prolonged civil conflict. We went to check out the potential for reviving the former, but saw signs of the latter.

Since the rainy season has started, we couldn't rely on the UN helicopter; at the first sign of rain, those helicopters turn right around and head back to their starting points. So, we had to drive 7 hours each way. It was definitely worth it.

First, we stopped by the offices of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to hear about a few of their projects. As an illustration of their hospitality - and Lofa County's fertile soil - we were presented with a gigantic papaya.


To the naysayers who might claim that such a large fruit couldn't also be sweet, I'm sorry to say you're wrong. Later that night we had some of it, and it was amazing.

Next stop: ADA. Last year, a major rice concession was signed between the Liberian government and the Foundation for African Development Aid (ADA). My understanding is that, in the US, even an enormous parcel of land - in this case, 15,000 hectares, which is about about 37,000 acres or almost 60 square miles - could be purchased outright from the government, or more likely, from a private owner. Here, the Government of Liberia controlled the land, and thus could allow a private concern access to it.

While neither I nor my employer is at all involved with this deal, the folks at ADA were kind enough to chat with us about their work and give us a quick tour of their commercial farm. Other than a few major rubber plantations (namely Firestone and Salala), it's been years since Liberia has been home to any commercial agriculture, so the ADA deal has received a lot of public attention. The landscape of the farm is impressive...as is the equipment:





Having trouble with our internet connection, so I'll finish the post about this trip tomorrow...