Entry: Bill Guyton
Dear Readers,
On February 15, I joined over 400 participants for the “New Liberia – Open for Business” Forum, hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa, International Finance Corporation and OPIC in Washington, DC. Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s first democratically elected female President, and Africa’s first female Head of State, provided an inspirational keynote address.
In the afternoon, I moderated a workshop on agriculture and forestry where Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Chris Toe, provided an outline of the national plan and investment opportunities. The panelists described the current status and potential for rubber, palm oil, and cocoa production in the country. Jeff Morgan from Mars Inc. talked about efforts underway by the World Cocoa Foundation and key partners to support cocoa growing communities in Liberia. Here is a link to the presentation.
These are exciting times for Liberia, moving from an era of political crisis and conflict, to economic development and reform. We congratulate President Johnson Sirleaf and we look forward to working with cocoa farming communities in Liberia.
Comments (2)
The farmers in Liberia need more training in both crop production(all level of training relating to crop production) and marketing cooperative manangement and marketing. There is a need that govenment provide grant opportunties to farmers base on merit not the old way where loan and grant s can only be given to the have and the big guys but not the have not the grassroot farmers.
The Liberian Produce marketing corporation needs to have more technical and trained staff the descipline of agriculture and coop manaement.
I will be available any questions with regard to African agriculture mostly west Africa.
Thnaks
Suliman V. Kamara
Marketing coordinator
World Peas cooperative/NESFP
(Agronomist)
646-284-1051
Posted by Suliman V. Kamara | April 17, 2007 10:57 PM
Posted on April 17, 2007 22:57
WCF.
These lines come from Morten Scholer, Senior Adviser in International Trade Centre, ITC - a UN organization in Switzerland. I deal with Coffee, Cocoa and a few other products.
In 2001 I coordinated the publication of "Cocoa - A guide to trade practice" which you may know. If not, then I can provide copies.
I read with interest Bill Guyton's and Jeffrey Morgans (Mars) text on the Liberia meetings in Washington D.C. on 15.2. Two colleagues of mine were present, but not re cocoa. We are in close contact with the Min. of Commerce in Liberia re selected products, incl. Cocoa. Could you please provide the e-mail addresses of the two gentlemen as I would like to contact them. Alternatively you could maybe forward this text to the two and they may then decide whether they wish to contact me.
Thanks in advance.
Morten Scholer.
ITC Geneva, scholer@intracen.org
Phone: +41 22 730 0378.
Th. 17 May, 2007
Posted by Morten Scholer | May 17, 2007 2:31 PM
Posted on May 17, 2007 14:31