Bassa Farming Co-op Boosts Cassava Production, Seeks Gafsp-Sadfons Support for Expansion

Wee District, Grand Bassa County – the United Community Agriculture Cooperative Society (UCACS) has emerged as the primary provider of enhan...

Wee District, Grand Bassa County – the United Community Agriculture Cooperative Society (UCACS) has emerged as the primary provider of enhanced cassava cuttings in Wee District, after achieving a significant production success facilitated by the Smallholder Agriculture Development for Food and Nutrition Security (SADFONS) initiative.

During the GAFSP assessment visit, the cooperative's lead farmer, Victor Kpehdyu, who was guided by ActionAid Liberia's team, mentioned that the cooperative's cassava production has increased significantly, moving from a harvest of as few as 25 to 50 bags to currently processing over 300 bags per harvest from their 3-hectare farm.

"I am a member of SADFONs, and the cuttings we generate are also provided to farmers in this area," said Victor Kpehdyu.

"Before SADFON arrived, our production levels were low, but since SADFON started working with us, we have been able to determine the size of our cassava farm and have managed to cultivate 3 hectares of land, processing 300 bags of cassava. We also provide farmers with cuttings," Victor said to the impact review team.

UCACS members proudly stated that no other group in the district provides more enhanced cuttings at the current level. The cooperative has evolved into a reliable source of seed cuttings, ensuring that farmers throughout Wee District no longer face difficulties in obtaining quality cassava planting materials.

Thanks to SADFONS' involvement, UCACS obtained a significant warehouse, addressing more than a decade of storage issues faced by the cooperative's members and nearby farmers.

Previously, we faced challenges with storage for 11 to 15 years, but after SADFONS constructed this storage facility with shelves for us, we have experienced some relief in storing raw, harvested, and processed cassava.

In addition to providing cuttings, UCACS has expanded into a significant producer of gari and fufu, serving clients in Monrovia, sections of Grand Bassa, Margibi, and nearby towns and villages.

Although there have been improvements and a significant journey for the cooperative, it now faces a major task. This is the challenge of meeting the needs of gari customers. The demand for their processed gari products has surpassed their current capacity.

This is mainly due to the fact that they continue to roast gari by hand over open flames, a time-consuming and labor-intensive method shown by the women in the group.

Numerous efforts are required, as noted by Mercy Digges and other women in the cooperative, to process several bags of grated cassava into gari by hand.

"The fire work is very difficult. Parching the gari by hand makes it hard for us to prepare enough gari, and sometimes when the buyers send their money, it can take us two weeks to finish parching 5-10 bags of gari," Mercy explained.

Mercy and others are issuing a touching appeal to SADFONS for support in acquiring two pieces of equipment for the cooperative: the cassava parching machine and a cassava packaging machine.

They claim that once this is completed, it will assist them in addressing the growing consumer demand, decrease manual work, and enable them to process their cassava according to contemporary standards. Although the group under SADFONS was registered as a cassava cutting multiplier, they state they do not wish to be restricted solely to producing cuttings, but instead aim to explore added value.

"SADFONS has been assisting us, but we would like them to keep working alongside us. Please let them help us with the cassava drying machine," Mercy concluded.

Numerous families within the cooperative depend on the earnings they make from growing cassava and from producing gari and fufu from their harvested cassava. From this income, they set aside some funds into their financial clubs, cover their children's education, medical expenses, and address other urgent requirements.

The group presented numerous suggestions to the SADFONS management team. Among the most important, they are urging the granting of farmer loans. They argue that with such loans, they can increase the size of their farms and cover daily labor costs, as they often hire local workers for farm clearing, paying them LD$500 per day.

Liberia is among six nations undergoing evaluation through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) review, along with Tanzania, Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic.

The evaluation centers on recording advancements, obstacles, and potential areas for enhancing food security, climate adaptability, nutrition, gender equality, and income creation within farming communities involved in the SADFONS initiative.

For the United Community Agriculture Cooperative Society, the outcome is evident, as SADFONS has enhanced their production capability and placed them at the forefront of cassava cutting supply in Wee District. However, expanding operations demands equipment that aligns with the cooperative's increased growth.

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