Liberia to Partner with Jigawa State on Rice Farming to Boost Production and Cut Imports

Liberia has announced plans to collaborate with the Jigawa State Government on rice farming to strengthen domestic production, reduce import dependence, and improve food security across West Africa.

The partnership was discussed during a courtesy visit by Liberia’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, David Akoi, to Governor Malam Umar Namadi at the Government House in Dutse on Tuesday evening.

Akoi said Liberia, where rice is consumed up to four times daily, currently imports about 70% of its supply. The government aims to reverse this trend by producing at least 70% of its own consumption needs. He noted that Jigawa’s track record in rice production makes it an ideal model, and his visit was intended to study the state’s rice value chain.

Highlighting rice’s political and economic significance in Liberia, Akoi recalled the 1979 rice riots that contributed to the overthrow of President William R. Tolbert, stressing that strengthening local production could have far-reaching benefits for stability and economic growth.

Governor Namadi welcomed the delegation, noting that agriculture is Jigawa’s economic backbone. He said the state had expanded rice cultivation from 60,000–70,000 hectares in 2023 to over 200,000 hectares in 2024, with a target of 300,000 hectares and meeting 50% of Nigeria’s rice needs by 2030.

Namadi credited the progress to irrigation farming, rehabilitated dams that added 4,500 hectares of arable land, and heavy investment in machinery, including 300 tractors, 60 combined harvesters, and 150 planters. Each of the state’s 30 constituencies now has at least 10 tractors available for subsidised hire to smallholder farmers.