Bopolu Metropolis, Liberia; June 11, 2025 – Farmers in Gbarpolu County are set to profit from a brand new $80,000 agri-processing and storage plant, to empower cooperative and particular person farmers.
Launched by the Authorities of Liberia and the United Nations Improvement Programme (UNDP) by the Accelerated Neighborhood Improvement Programme (ACDP), the power is meant to strengthen meals safety, enhance livelihoods, and increase financial alternatives.
Located on 2.5 acres of land close to the Ministry of Agriculture County Workplace in Bopolu Metropolis, Gbarpolu County, the power will function a hub for processing uncooked meals supplies into completed merchandise and a storage hub for processed and unprocessed commodities.
It would specialise in cassava and rice processing, a lifeline for farmers and the native economic system, serving to native farmers scale back post-harvest losses, enhance effectivity, and add worth to their produce.
Talking on the groundbreaking ceremony just lately in Bopolu, Metropolis Mayor Siah Victor-Keah, hailed the initiative as a transformative challenge for farmers and their households.
“This plant will ease the burden of processing crops, permitting our farmers to extend their earnings and enhance their way of life. We’re grateful to President Joseph Boakai and UNDP for prioritizing our group,” she intimated.
With entry to trendy processing know-how, native farmers will not endure losses as a result of restricted storage amenities or depend on expensive, distant processing facilities. This development retains extra income inside the group, strengthens native meals manufacturing, and encourages youth participation in agriculture.
Residents are optimistic in regards to the plant’s influence. Hannah Sumaworo, a cassava processor from Henry City, expressed pleasure in regards to the potential to broaden cassava-based industries.
“Cassava is greater than a crop—it’s our livelihood. From flour to gari, this plant will assist us course of and promote value-added merchandise throughout Liberia and past,” she defined.
She highlighted that cassava chips, flour, gari, and starch—now very important commodities—are benefiting from improved processing applied sciences.
One other farmer, Moses Jallah, a longtime resident of Bopolu, shared his gratitude for the brand new facility.
“This plant is a game-changer. It would serve not simply Bopolu but additionally adjoining cities and villages. We thank the UNDP and our authorities for making life higher for us, farmers,” Jallah remarked.
Mama Korpu, a visually impaired chief, serves as the top of disabled farmers in Gborpolu County. She sustains her livelihood by cassava farming and is a beneficiary of one of many 14 cooperatives the Accelerated Neighborhood Improvement Programme (ACDP) awarded small capital to help operational and logistical bills, in addition to the development of mini-offices.
“We are saying incapacity, not incapability,” declared Mama Korpu on the groundbreaking ceremony for the agri-processing and storage facility in Bopolu.
Quoting Article 10 of the United Nations Conference article 10 of the United Nations (UN) conference, she emphasised that nations should assure individuals with disabilities their inherent proper to life on an equal foundation with others.
Mama Korpu expressed gratitude to the authorities for his or her dedication to inclusion, making certain that every one members of the group profit from improvement initiatives.
“This ACDP challenge has empowered our girls,” she stated. “Ladies as soon as struggled, however the arrival of this cooperative in our county has strengthened us. Now, we are able to ship our youngsters to high school with out relying on males.”
Neighborhood Possession and Sustainable Affect
Talking on behalf of the Minister of State, Senior Technical Analyst Mr. Invoice Massaquoi emphasised President Boakai’s sturdy dedication to advancing agriculture as outlined within the authorities’s formidable plans underneath the ARREST Agenda.
Concerning his workplace’s position in supporting the group after the development is accomplished, Mr. Massaquoi assured that every one produce from the power will probably be delivered to market at aggressive costs, making certain financial advantages for native farmers and companies.
He additional confused that the success of the challenge is a shared accountability—not simply of the contractor but additionally the group, as the power is constructed for his or her profit. Massaquoi inspired group members to collaborate intently with the contractor to maximise the challenge’s influence.
To make sure group possession and an enduring influence, the Director of Neighborhood Providers on the Ministry of Public Works urged residents to take satisfaction within the agri-processing plant and actively defend and preserve it.
“This facility belongs to the folks of Bopolu. Its success is determined by how nicely it’s protected and utilized by the farmers it was constructed to serve,” Madam Bynor Younger emphasised.
Echoing this sentiment, Deputy Minister for Extension on the Ministry of Agriculture, Moses Gbanyan, described the power as a shared alternative and accountability for progress by creating jobs, decreasing waste, and strengthening meals manufacturing.
“This challenge is for the folks. It would empower farmers, increase productiveness, and improve meals safety throughout Bopolu,” Gbanyan acknowledged.
A Shared Duty
Residents are inspired to actively help the power by making certain correct upkeep, advocating for its environment friendly use, and sharing information to maximise the long-term advantages.
“The prosperity of our farmers is the prosperity of Bopolu Metropolis. Collectively, we are able to construct a stronger, extra food-secure group,” affirmed Mayor Siah Victor-Keah.
The Chairperson of the Totoquelle Agriculture Improvement Cooperative, Mr. Moinjbeh Kamara Jnr, affirmed the communities’ dedication to the development of the Agri-processing facility, to deal with and make good use of it.
UNDP’s Dedication to Neighborhood-Pushed Improvement
Mr. Boye Johnson, Venture Supervisor of the Accelerated Neighborhood Improvement Programme, reaffirmed UNDP’s dedication to empowering communities by sustainable initiatives.
“UNDP is concentrated on bettering the lives of bizarre residents by community-driven improvement. This agri-processing plant will give farmers the instruments they should thrive,” Johnson affirmed.
He additional highlighted that the challenge aligns with UNDP’s broader dedication to strengthening sanitation, agriculture, financial improvement, and cultural preservation in rural Liberia.
By decreasing reliance on costly exterior processing providers, the plant will preserve extra monetary assets inside Bopolu Metropolis, fostering self-sufficiency, job creation, and native financial progress.
This initiative is in help of the Authorities of Liberia’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Improvement (AAID). It’s essential to satisfy the agricultural wants of the folks of Gbarpolu County and supply a platform for decreasing poverty and inequalities.
The ACDP is a flagship programme aiming to deal with the actual wants of probably the most weak rural populations. Its implementation is predicted to have a right away influence on decreasing poverty whereas accelerating socio-economic improvement in rural communities.
Quick-Monitor Development and Native Participation
The development, led by Related Builders and Contractors (ABC), INC., is predicted to be accomplished inside three months, making certain farmers shortly achieve entry to trendy processing amenities designed to reinforce group advantages, financial empowerment, and agricultural progress.
Frederick M. Foboi, ABC’s Chief Government Officer and proprietor, assured residents that native staff will probably be employed, creating extra job alternatives through the development section.
“We’re dedicated to finishing this challenge effectively, and we’re grateful to UNDP for the chance to contribute to Bopolu’s improvement,” Foboi acknowledged.
The Bopolu Agri-Processing Plant is ready to turn out to be an emblem of rural transformation and agricultural resilience, driving sustainable improvement and financial empowerment for the folks of Gbarpolu County.
The groundbreaking ceremony and signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) occurred on the web site on June 4. Press Launch
