Liberia Begs AfDB For US$10m To Save Rubber Sector
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Loading... - Ashanti Quaye
- 06 Apr 2023
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Finance & Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah has apparently shocked the visiting Vice President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Solomon Quaynor and his delegation with the revelation that Liberia’s out-grower rubber sector could be on the verge of collapse unless US$10 Million is raised to save the sector.
Speaking Tuesday, April 4, 2023, during a meeting with the AfDB delegation at the Finance Ministry, Minister Tweah said Liberian rubber farmers need ‘just US$10 Million’ for value addition since Firestone, the largest rubber company in the country, was no longer buying rubber from out-growers because Firestone herself had been planting trees over the years and can now produce enough not to buy rubber from elsewhere.
This, according to him, means that rubber out-growers (farmers) are now under pressure to sustain the sector, and have therefore identified value addition such as processing, as the surest way to create jobs, sustain employment and boost revenue.
Minister Tweah emphasized that access to finance is a broader private sector challenge, and the rubber sector which employs a lot of people, is no exception.
AfDB Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor, looked on in apparent shock that such a critical sector of the economy could face the threat of collapse.
Tweah also commended the AfDB and welcomed the proposal to establish the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) in Liberia to build the entrepreneur skills of young Liberians and increase access to finance.
He noted that this project would also ease pressure on the public (government) sector amid the negative economic impact of COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the growing numbers of young people entering the job market.
Speaking earlier, AfDB Vice President, Solomon Quaynor said his institution is committed to creating credit guarantee for young entrepreneurs, and the establishment of the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) was one of the best ways to achieve that.
The meeting with Finance Ministry authorities was part of Mr. Quaynor and his delegation’s three-day official visit to Liberia, 3rd to 5th April 2023, holding high-level strategic discussions with Liberian authorities and other development partners including the private sector. Read More…
