Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia Monthly Report February 2012

The program focuses on three main components: Agriculture, Enterprise Development, and Gender. Agriculture is a key component of the FED program, with a focus on urban and peri-urban agriculture. In February 2012, the program conducted various trainings for farmers in the peri-urban area, including training on the usage of treadle pumps and market development. A total of 150 individual farmers in urban and peri-urban parts of Montserrado benefited from these trainings. Additionally, a one-day training was conducted for project staff on key gender concepts and terms, gender-based constraints facing women in agriculture in Liberia, and best practices for promoting women in agriculture through LFED programming. The program also launched a baseline survey in February 2012 to determine the current status of agricultural and livestock practices from households in the FED program's selected regions. The survey was conducted in all four core counties by the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team. In the Agriculture component, the Peri-Urban Agriculture (PUA) team worked closely with the M&E unit to collect baseline data on PUA farmer participants as well as a control group. These data will determine the production impact of the PUA interventions. The PUA team also developed a demonstration site in Kakata, which continues to take shape. At the end of February, seedlings were being transplanted from the nursery to the demonstration site. Issues addressed included procurement of a motorized irrigation pump, purchase of compost, and construction of a shaded area at the demonstration site. The program also made preliminary preparations for rainy season vegetable production, which will be implemented between March and September 2012. Proposed activities include preliminary crop selection, radio ad production, radio broadcasts to raise awareness about training to be offered by FED, group selection criteria determination, consultation with informed sources for pre-selection of interested groups, pre-selection of groups, meetings with groups, final group selection, training, and connection of farmers to input and equipment suppliers. In the Enterprise Development component, the program conducted a four-day participatory Enterprise Development Training Workshop for the Bonpain's Women Group in Duompa, Nimba County. The workshop brought together 30 participants, including 29 women and 1 man. The program also made progress in the Gender component, with a one-day training conducted for project staff on key gender concepts and terms, gender-based constraints facing women in agriculture in Liberia, and best practices for promoting women in agriculture through LFED programming. Overall, the FED program made significant progress in February 2012, with various trainings, surveys, and preparations for future activities. The program's focus on agriculture, enterprise development, and gender will continue to improve the livelihoods of Liberian farmers and entrepreneurs.