By Paul G. Rancy / Grand Gedeh County
Zwedru – As part of efforts to ensure effective project implementation and achievements of desired goals of the Smallholder Agriculture Development for Food and Nutrition Security, (SAFONS) ActionAid International in partnership with ActionAid Liberia, is carrying out a week-long impacts review of the Global Agriculture Food and Security Program (GAFSP) support to farmers in Grand Gedeh County Country.
The GAFSP impacts review started on Friday, November 6, 2025, with ActionAid Liberia’s Team paying a one -day visit to AHWEHDE Farmer’s Association in Dougee Town.
In 2022, AHWEHDE Farmer Association was among several farming groups that began benefiting from SADFONS project funded by the the Global Agriculture Food and Security Program (GAFSP).
Providing an overview of the review process during a one-day engagement with members of Farmer’s Association over the weekend, ActionAid Liberia’s Acting Program and Policy Manager, James Pewee, disclosed that ActionAid International is partnering the GASFP to assess the impact of the over USA 19 million dollars that was given to the Ministry of Agriculture to support Liberian farmers to boost food and nutrition, and help farmers adapt to the growing effects of climate change.
Pewee said the assessment is being caried out across six counties in Liberia which include, Grand Gedeh County, River Gee, Maryland, Grand Bassa, Bomi, Grand Bassa, and Rural Montserrado Counties.
The engagement with the farmers focused on key concerns including, but not limited to, the initial status of the group, current condition, assessing the successes of the SADFONS support to the group, and existing challenges, and recommendation from the famers in areas that need improvement.
“We do not work for the Ministry of Agriculture and we are not here to promise farmers, but we are doing this assessment to help the GAFSP clearly understand to what extend the support given to farmers in this part of the country under the MOA yielded result, and or what were the challenges, the gaps, and areas in which the project did not deliver and as well as areas of success.”
During the meeting, the farmers drilled ActionAid Liberia’s team through a series of concerns with the aim of gathering useful, authentic data required by the review team.
Speaking for the AHWEHDE Farmer’s Association, the lead farmer, Amos Quiwea, commended ActionAid Liberia for the engagement, describing it as a gateway to future expansion of the project and enhancing collaborations with partners.
“We want to thank ActionAid for coming to hear from us. Amos Said. SAFONS give us cassava machine and the machine helping us, but some things SAFONS promised to do for us, up until now, they have not done them and we are in 2025.”
He commended the SADFONS project for the level of support given to them. Amos indicated that the Association began their cassava project with the only the provision of three pieces of cassava processing machines which include the cassava grinder, the slicer, and the compressor, to help process their harvested cassava something they said has become a way more easier.
Other members of the association predominantly women also shared testimonies of how the cassava grinder has significantly reduce the hard labor they as women faced prior to the donation of the cassava equipment at which time they said they were grinding cassava using the old method of processing (their hands).
“There are some good things the SADFONS Project did for us as farmers here, but we want them to do more and better. We need tools, we want to plan vegetables.” Mamie Blamah, the treasurer of the association said.
She narrated that the support given to them since SAFON begun working with them, has helped in increasing their production of gari, fufu, and that they no longer going thorught the stress of griding the cassava using hands. Other support the group said includes the training of lead farmers.
However, Amos was quick to mention that despite the support from SADFONS which has positively impacted the farmers, SADFONS has not fulfilled a number of promises made to them. Such promises he said include training of Farmer’s feed school trainers, provision of tools for the cassava projects, outfits, provision of a mechanization center for the farmers, storage facilities, and linkages to existing markets.
The farmers association, through its leaders, welcomes continuous support and continued engagement with the SADFONS project in order to strengthen their capacities, increase productivity and yields, and improve the nutritional vibrancy of its members.
“We want to continue with the SADFONS project, but let the ministry do those things SADFON said they should do for us the farmers. We want to make our cassava farm bigger, but most of the promises they made, they have not fulfilled them.” Amos and all the members of the association said.
The group also pointed out the lack of supervision and support system to maintain and service the equipment, coupled with the lack of storage facility for their produce and lack of market linkages as some of the pressing challenges they want SADFONS and MOA to address moving forward. The group also expressed frustration over the lack of training and maintenance of the other cassava equipment that the Ministry of Agriculture brought for them.
They say that they lack the necessary skills and don’t know how to operate the cassava slicer, and ways to repair the cassava compressor, these pieces of equipment and standing not been in use for several months. The next phase of the Impact Reviews, ActionAid Acting Program and Policy Manager, James Pewee said will be conducted in River Gee, Maryland, Grand Bassa, and onward to Bomi Counties in the coming days.
