To be a nation of food sufficiency and to minimize constant food importation, President Joseph N. Boakai has pronounced agriculture prioritization as a compulsory mandate for every Liberian to obey.

President Boakai made the enunciation at the seventh Cabinet Meeting held at the Executive Mansion yesterday.

“You do not have to be a farmer to do agriculture: as long as you have a land, the equipment, technicians, manpower, do texture of the soil, you can make a farm,” President Boakai stated. “Agriculture is life and the right important source of income.”

According to President Boakai, over the years, his administration has been promoting an agriculture agenda for Liberia to be food-sovereign. He publicized that agriculture promotion is a compulsory matter, compelling all Liberians to go back to the soil.

A country that fully produces all the food it needs to feed its citizens, without relying on imports, is considered food self-sufficient. Besides, the broader human right for a nation to democratically control its own food and agricultural systems is known as food sovereignty, and that is the President’s goal to put Liberia be on par with other nations that have sufficient food and feed their citizens well.

In a jiffy remarks, Nathaniel T. Kwabo, Director General of the Cabinet, said the meeting discussed the progress and challenge of the Ministry of Agriculture, how Liberia will turn over the United Nations Security Council in December 2026, and how Liberia is making progress in achieving the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

He stated that the Cabinet agreed to raise funds for the Ministry of Agriculture to excel in food production, farmers’ empowerment, and so on. He revealed that there is a plan for a cabinet retreat to be held outside Monrovia.

Research shows that Guyana is the only country in the world that has achieved total food self-sufficiency, meaning it produces enough of all the seven essential food groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, plant-based proteins, and starches to feed its entire population.