To support President Joseph Boakai’s agenda to promote agriculture in the country and also encourage farming, the students of Aware International School System on Friday, March 22, 2024 held an agricultural exhibition with display of various vegetables products.
The event was attended by students, parents, teachers and school administrators.
The theme of this year’s exhibition was ‘Agriculture for Self-Reliance.” Students from all grades participated in the exhibition which focused on promoting sustainable and affordable food production among students and the people of Liberia. Some students created working models of machines and devices, while others made art and crafts from recycled materials.
The exhibition was a great success and clearly showed that the students had put a lot of hard work into their projects. The judges were impressed with the creativity and innovation of the students.
The exposition was intended for students to learn the importance of science, technology, engineering and arts and agriculture.
In his remarks, guest speaker P. Folton Blasin, Assistant Minister for Agriculture who proxy for Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah praised the administration for instilling in students a profound sense of reverence for agriculture, imparting knowledge about cultivation methods.
Minister Blasin assured the students of the government commitment to supporting the establishment of an agricultural club in the school and other schools nationwide.
According to the Minister, the government has already launched the University and Community Colleges agricultural farms at the University of Liberia, saying “We will ensure that all public universities and community colleges have agriculture farms where students will have practical agricultural knowledge upon graduation.”
Blasin noted that to make the economy vibrant, achieving Self-Reliance and self-sustainability in agriculture depends not only on infrastructure and governance reform, but also on decreasing the agri-imports bill and increasing farmer’s income.
He noted that agriculture is a major sector of the country’s economy worth 38.8% of the GDP. “It employs more than 70% of the population and provides a valuable export for one of the world’s least developed countries as defined by the UN. It also forms the basis of many other economics.”
He said he has realised that the smallholder farmers who worked to meet the food requirements of the ever-growing population of the country lack basic amenities and resources.
“This administration will adopt the value-chain approach to agriculture development and take specific actions to develop the value-chains of targeted agricultural commodities that support national food self-sufficiency and the development of the national economy,” the Assistant Minister added.
