Monrovia, (PMU, MOA)-July 20, 2020:  The Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project-STAR-P, has donated three Land Cruiser Hardtops  and five motorbikes worth more than US $151,00.00 (One Hundred, Fifty One-Thousand United States Dollars ) to the Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) and Finance and Development Planning (MFDP).

The vehicles and Motorbikes were procured by the Project with funding from the World Bank and IFAD to strengthen the Departments of Planning and Extension within the Ministry of Agriculture and the Aid Management and Coordination Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP).

At a separate turning over ceremonies on Monday July 20, 2020 at the Program Management Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture in Gardnerville, Mr. Edward P. Borloh, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of STAR-P speaking on behalf of the Project Coordinator Mr. Ansu A. Metzger, said, the project was pleased to present the vehicles and motorbikes to the institutions as part of its support to enhance their work in contributing to the overall implementation of the project.

The Department of Planning, particularly the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible to support the project in collecting and collating information. The M&E Unit works with the project team in the formulation of the annual work plan and budget and the monitoring framework for continuous monitoring and reporting. While the Department of Extension within the MoA is responsible to provide extension services, work with the county focal persons of the project and conduct Farmers Field School activities in the counties.

The Aid Management and Coordination Unit within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) is responsible to coordinate policy dialogue between and amongst donor funded projects including the STAR-P. The Aid Management Unit also conducts quarterly donor working group meetings that help to create synergy between and amongst government projects. It also does supervision on behalf of the MFDP and provide reports on the implementation of all projects to the Government of Liberia.

In separate remarks, the Director of the Aid Management and Coordination Unit of MFDP, Mrs. Alice Williams said she was delighted to receive the donation on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.

Mrs. Williams informed the gathering that the vehicle will go a long way in enhancing the work of the Ministry to conduct proper monitoring and supervision of donor projects particularly the STAR Project.

 She expressed the Ministry’s gratitude to the World Bank through the MoA and promised that the vehicle will be used for the intended purpose.

Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Administration, Mrs. Precious K. Tetteh, the Special Assistant, Mr. Frank Merriam lauded the efforts of the Project for its continuous support to the MoA. He continued that the donated vehicles and motorbikes will enhance the work of the two departments and the larger ministry.