MONROVIA, LIBERIA-Liberia is set to officially launch Coffee Liberica as its flagship product under the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) One Country One Priority Product initiative.

According to an Agriculture Ministry release, the initiative is a global program that promotes distinctive agricultural products with high market and development potential.

FAO One Country One Priority Product initiative also supports countries in identifying and branding agricultural products to transform local economies and strengthen food systems.

The release is quoted as saying Liberia officially joined the FAO One Country One Priority Product initiative in 2024, identifying Coffee Liberica, a rare and distinct coffee species indigenous to Liberia, as its priority product.

Agriculture Ministry says the move positions Liberia as the first African country to launch such Coffee, highlighting the Country’s potential to compete with global coffee varieties, including Arabica and Robusta.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Alexander Nuetah has held bilateral engagements with the World Bank, African Development Bank, Saudi Agricultural Fund, and private sector partners, such as to expand investment and technology transfer in Liberia’s agriculture sector.

Dr. Nuetah also participated in the inauguration of the Food and Agriculture Museum, opened by the FAO Director-General and H.E. Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic. The Museum, the first ever created by a UN agency, celebrates global agricultural innovation and aligns with Liberia’s own vision of promoting transformation through innovation, culture, and knowledge sharing.

In a related development, the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) has concluded a two-day training session for Quality Control Inspectors and Local Buyers in Ganta, Nimba County.

According to LACRA, the training was intended to prepare participants with a comprehensive understanding of international standards, data collection, integrity promotion, laboratory roles and responsibilities, among others.

In a release issued over the weekend, LACRA Deputy Director General for Operations, Alpha Gongloee, said the entity is working out modalities to establish fermentation centers in four cocoa-producing counties, including Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, and Rivergee.

The LACRA Deputy Director General for Operations also disclosed plans to distribute two hundred thousand coffee seedlings to farmers in Nimba, Lofa, Montserrado, Bong, and Bomi counties, emphasizing the importance of promoting Liberian-owned coffee, Coffee Liberica.

The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority says the move is part of ongoing efforts to improve the agriculture sector, to increase the country’s economic growth.