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LIBERIA, whose coast is known as the Grain Coast, faces the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, occupying 111,000 km2 between Sierra Leone and Côte d 'Ivoire. There are low-lying coastal plains where most crops, including rice, are grown, and a mountainous interior with central plateaus. Arable land is less than 5%, but agriculture contributes half of the country's GDP.
General information
- Internal renewable water resources: 200 km3
- Incoming water flow: 32 km3
- Main food consumed: rice, roots and tubers, oil and fat, fruits, sugar
- Rice consumption, 1999: 54.9 kg milled rice per person per year
Production constraints
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Liberia:
- Dominance of upland shifting cultivation
- Drought stress, low soil fertility, erosion of soil and soil fertility in upland areas
- Blast and weed competition
- Poor drainage, iron toxicity in undeveloped swamps
- Inadequate and irregular input supplies: seeds, fertilizer, and credit
- Lack of small farm equipment, especially for postharvest operations
- Lack of a well-defined rice policy
- Poor road networks and marketing systems
- Weak research and extension support
- Recently, deterioration of security situation
Production season |
|
|
|
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
Apr-Jul |
Sep-Dec |
Basic statistics, Liberia |
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
Rice |
Area harvested (ha) |
230,731 |
175,000 |
50,000 |
162,500 |
155,000 |
155,000 |
Yield (t/ha) |
1.3 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
Production (t) |
289,000 |
180,000 |
56,200 |
210,100 |
200,000 |
200,000 |
Rice imports (t) |
85,318 |
65,000 |
50,000 |
9,100 |
40,700 |
na |
Others |
Population, total (x103) |
2,193 |
2,579 |
2,090 |
2,666 |
2,930 |
na |
Population, agriculture (x103) |
1,630 |
1,864 |
1,464 |
1,828 |
1,995 |
na |
Agricultural area (x103 ha) |
2,390 |
2,393 |
2,390 |
2,390 |
na |
na |
Total fertilizer consumption (t) |
1,460 |
300 |
0 |
0 |
na |
na |
Tractors used in agric. (no.) |
315 |
330 |
325 |
325 |
na |
na |
Source: FAOSTAT online database. |
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