Rice Field Days in Liberia attract many women farmers

More than 200 farmers, 70% of whom were women farmers, attended Rice Field Days organized by AfricaRice in collaboration with the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), in Bong and Margibi counties in Liberia, on 7 and 8 September 2016 respectively.

Representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as from the Liberian Ministry of Agriculture and the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement and Commercialization (SAPEC) project coordination unit also attended, in addition to all focal points from the project counties and farmers’ delegates.

The main objective of the Field Days was to demonstrate to farmers and partners improved climate-resilient upland and lowland rice varieties. These included ARICA, NERICA and Orylux varieties that have been established in demonstration plots in the project counties.

Farmers were given the opportunity to indicate their preference from the demonstrated varieties. Among the lowland varieties NERICA L-19, ARICA 2 and Orylux 6 were preferred by the majority of farmers, and among the upland varieties, NERICA 8, ARICA 4 and ARICA 5 were preferred. 

The Field Days were conducted as part of the SAPEC project, which is funded by the African Development Bank and implemented by AfricaRice. Similar Field Days have been scheduled to take place in six other counties.