Farming systems research in three counties in Liberia : a reconnaissance survey in Grand Gedeh, Nimba, and Bong counties

The team interviewed both husband and wife in 114 farm families, using a detailed outline. This report presents the major findings from the survey. The first section of the report describes the general farming systems characteristics of the three counties, addressing such topics as access to land, spatial arrangements of farmers" fields, labor patterns, cropping patterns (for upland rice, swamp rice, cassava, sugar cane, groundnut, and tree crops), animal husbandry, marketing, non-farm income, access to credit, consumption patterns, community farms, and government interventions. In the second section, the same topics are covered, but with respect to each individual county. The third section identifies crop-specific and general farming constraints, discusses the means farmers currently use to cope with these constraints, and then presents the survey team"s recommendations. (Author abstract, modified)