MONROVIA – The Ministry of Agriculture says Mainland Group, a leading Chinese firm with extensive investments across Africa, has announced a significant US$100 million initiative to revitalize Liberia’s agriculture industry.
The company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Zhu Chen, made the disclosure during a live press conference held at the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday, August 13, noting that the initiative would be done in the next five years to help stimulate economic growth.
The investment will focus on six strategic areas: cassava processing for starch, rice processing facilities, cocoa processing to add value to locally grown beans, coffee processing, a sugar refinery with sugarcane plantation development, and warehouse/logistics infrastructure near port areas.
Chen plans to open a rice processing plant at a 1,000-hectare site in Fuamah District, Lower Bong County, by September or October 2025, to help farmers access markets.
Chen also intends to set up a cassava processing facility to improve farmers’ incomes, a cocoa processing facility that will start in February or March next year, adding value to a crop currently exported raw. Coffee processing will run alongside cocoa, and sugar production aims to reduce Liberia’s imports, with plantations supplying the refinery in two years, the release added.
“All of these projects will increase farmers’ income by 20 to 30%. Our target is to engage more than 150,000 ordinary farmers in the next five years. Additionally, we will expand the industry and plantations year by year, growing our own plantations and those of the communities,” said Chen.
The detailed investment breakdown includes: Rice – Asset: US$2M; Working Capital: US$ 10M; Cassava – Asset: US$2M; Working Capital: US$10M; Cocoa – Asset: US$ 5–7M; Working Capital: US$50M; Coffee – Asset: US$2M; Working Capital: US$8M; Sugar Refinery – Asset: US$8–10M; Working Capital: US$15–20M and Warehousing & Logistics – Asset: US$7M; Working Capital: US$3M.
All of these amount to US$26 to 28 million in assets and US$60 to 70 million in working capital, leading to a total investment of US$100 million.
Agriculture Minister, Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah, has warmly welcomed the initiative, describing it as a major boost to ensure food security and rural incomes.
“The vision is to scale up production so our farmers can earn better incomes and improve their livelihoods. This investment will help address off taking, one of our biggest challenges,” Minister Nuetah averred. “The Mainland Group’s investment will create market access for farmers, especially in rice production, which remains a national priority”.
The release said Minister Nuetah also revealed that the Chinese Government has pledged an additional 16 agricultural machines, bringing the total to 304 units, including tractors and diesel generators for Liberia’s mechanization centers. Delivery is expected by October, pending completion of the service centers.
The investment is coming during a time when many Liberian farmers still struggle to improve in farming despite millions of dollars borrowed by the government to invest in agriculture to stimulate the economy. It is a fulfillment of the government’s commitment to create jobs and improve food security.
Minister Nuetah has expressed the hope that the investment is going to create market opportunities for many farmers to improve incomes.
“These investments will go a long way in improving the lives of our people. I have been doing our best to support farmers to grow rice but the major challenge is to off take. Farmers grow the rice but there is no market for it. And with the Mainland coming, it is a great opportunity for the country to be able to scale up rice production,” Minister Nuetah informed the Chinese giant agribusiness CEO.
Minister Nuetah said that Liberia being a rice consumption country and can’t produce more and still rely on importing is a problem.
Meanwhile, some stakeholders have begun commending the Government for the initiative but are calling for a detailed disclosure of the investment opportunity. “There’s a need for the Ministry to invite actors and the farmers in the sector and give us a full disclosure on the investment opportunities,” a local farmer said.
The Mainland Group operates several factories across Africa, including five in Côte d’Ivoire producing 450,000 tons of rubber annually, and has investments in Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Mozambique. Currently, the company is leveraging its agro-industrial expertise in Liberia to generate jobs, expand markets, and enhance food security.
It can be recalled a US$100 million investment was slated to have commenced in Liberia, specifically in Foya, Lofa County came from the late Muammar Ghaddafi of Libya, through ADA. But unfortunately, the investment project did not gain dividends after US$30 million was given upfront for rice production. There were claims and counterclaims about misappropriation of the monies by the ADA and collaborators, an allegation that was denied by ADA.
But the pending the pending US$100 million agriculture investment expected to be launched by Mainland Group of China is a private venture, so pundits are of the view that this investment when it kicks off by the Chinese company the prospects of success is likely unlike the ADA project which had a bilateral undertone of Libyan government support.
