Originally published in the Daily Observer
The Head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia, Ambassador Nona Deprez, has lauded the sustainability plan of the DeSIRA Integrated Rice-Fish Farming System (IRFFS) Project. The ambassador, who was part of Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti’s acquaintance mission to the government’s development partners’ project sites, told journalists that what she saw at the already-ended project site is a good example of sustainability, an element that the European Union embeds into their project.
“We have fish, we have rice. I think it is really a good example of a sustainable project. Sustainability is something that we build into each of our projects,” said the ambassador.
Foreign Minister Nyanti, led a delegation comprising government officials and members of the diplomatic community, toured a beneficiary’s farm of the IRFFS Project on Monday, August 12, 2024. The mission was to acquaint the Minister with international partners’ projects as part of their contribution to national development.
“Bringing ambassadors and my colleagues from other government ministries to see these projects firsthand was essential,” she told journalists. “It allows us to appreciate our progress and identify future challenges and opportunities.”
The mission also preceded the Twelfth EU-Liberia Partnership Dialogue Co-chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, and the Head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia, Ambassador Nona Deprez. The meeting aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and address key mutual interests grounded in shared values.
The coordinator of the project, Dr. Inoussa Akintayo, welcomed the high-powered delegation to the project’s beneficiary farm. He led the tour at the farm, highlighting the innovation that the project has introduced along the rice and fish value chain in Liberia.
The DeSIRA Integrated Rice-Fish Farming System Project was launched in 2020 and ended in 2023. Throughout its lifespan, the project reported 53 hectares of cultivated and 35 metric tons of fish produced per year across five counties–Gbarpolu, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Margibi, and Maryland. Local fabricators were also trained to produce small-scale machinery to boost farmers’ productivity.
Africa Rice and World Fish implemented the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), and the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI).