(Suakoko, Thursday, June 5, 2020):  Agriculture Minister Jeanine Milly Cooper, through the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement and Commercialization (SAPEC) has empowered the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) with two brand new Toyota Hilux pickups to help ease mobility challenges the institution faces.
Minister Cooper handed over the keys to CARI's Officer-In-Charge Paulette Findley as she was flanked by Deputy Minister for Extension, George Forboh and Deputy Minister for Planning, Roberts Fagan along with SAPEC's Project Coordinator William Kawalawu
CARI situated in the central Liberian town of Suakoko in Bong County about 180 km (111.8 miles) north of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, was a top of the line research center in Africa for many years.
SAPEC is a multi-donor project with majority funding from the African Development Bank, which comes to an end in June this year after it started in 2013.  Negotiations are ongoing for the extension of the project for an additional nine months.
The MoA through SAPEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CARI, for the institution to provide extension advisory services and a key part of that MoU is the provision of vehicles to CARI, to enable it to reach agricultural sector actors.
“CARI has been knocking on our doors for so long for help and we are glad today that these two new pickups are presented to them to help facilitate its work”, Minister Cooper said.
During her visit to CARI in early March, authorities there appealed to her to bring CARI to its pre-war status by making it functional and helpful to farmers as she toured the institution at that time.
The center now lacks basic research facilities such as laboratories to enhance agricultural research and its irrigation system was damaged, leaving unable to fully nurture the seedling and planting demonstration plots adequately.
This situation has left a shadow of its pre-war status, even though it has several Liberian agro-scientists trained in different fields of agriculture research from prestigious institutions around the world.
Minister Cooper, as Chair of the CARI Board of Directors, has been holding several meetings to revive the center; and the donation of the vehicles was an important step in reviving the institution –the first of many proposed interventions by the MoA.