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Minister Jeanine Cooper Visit to Medlife Seed Multiplication Farm Harvest

The National Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Jeanine Cooper visited the Medlife Liberia, Ltd Farm in Suacoco, Bong County on February 12, 2021 during the National Agricultural held in Suacoco to showcase agricultural productivity in Liberia. This farm is funded under GIZ develoPPP program is designed to provide 50% of the investment in private business ventures. Harvested seeds will be distributed to farmers in the region to mitigate one of the key challenges facing rice farmers in Liberia: poor quality seeds. The high yielding and disease resistant NIRECA (New Rice for Africa) varieties are sought after by farmers to in the West Africa region. 

The GIZ develoPPP program as an innovative initiative provides an alternative to official development assistance (ODA) as the principal means to finance development in poor countries. For many decades, government revenues and official development assistance continues to be the dominant means to finance efforts aimed at improving the livelihood of people in poor countries, like Liberia. However, the challenge is more than governments through bilateral or multilateral collaboration can achieve. The opportunity to think, work, finance and deliver on development goals differently through mobilized private-sector resources and expertise is a promising alternative to help the world’s poorest to help themselves.

Visit of the Minister of Agriculture, February 12, 2021 Suacoco, Rice Seed Multiplication Field


Leader of the Women Farming Group welcoming
the Minister of Agriculture


Minister Cooper gesturing traditional symbol of appreciation.
Medlife Liberia, Ltd. CEO, Mamaka Bility welcoming Minister Cooper


Medlife CEO, Dr. Bility and other Senior Management Team welcoming Minister Cooper 


The Suacoco Cultural Association welcoming Minister Cooper with drums, Horns and traditional Kpelle music


Minister Cooper using a sickle to harvest rice-the first fruits.


Dr. Khalipha Bility, Medlife Director of Program explaining to the Minister the opportunities and inner working of developpp.de in the field: “Even Rivers of ignorance host wise crocodiles” The partnership of public sector and private enterprise should work like two hands washing each other to get clean fingers mitigating the spread of infections resulting in good health.


Medlife Chief Driver proudly standing in the partial view of the Suacoco rice fields.


Minister Senior Advisor, demonstrating his traditional artistic skills keeping the music going during the visit.


Suacoco NL 19 Field for Rice Seeds Multiplication
NIRICA (New Rice for Africa)

Medlife Liberia Quarter VII Pictures and Report February 2021

There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however is that we have the resources to get rid of it

Dr. Martin Luther King,
1964 Nobel Peace Prize Address

Second Farmer Mobile Training: Agro Machines


First cohort of farmers who completed the power tailor tiller training


Trainees relaxing under a tree during session break


Group of trainees praying for a successful outcome for the training


Trainees with Medlife Team entering the field for phase II of the training


Female trainee demonstrating how the power tiller works,
impressing her colleagues


Trainee now applying newly acquired skills in tilling the soil.
Tilling the low land swamps is one of the most difficult obstacles to expanding rice production in Liberia.


Figure Trainee with Coach Charles Flomo during a rest break in the field


Another female trainee demonstrating her skills
in manoeuvring the power tiller

Quarter Five Pictures September–November 2020 Medlife Liberia Ltd. Monrovia, Liberia

Picture 1: Preparing for harvest. Ismeal Farlekou Bility-Young aspiring farmer at the Jarmu Rice Field  
Picture 2: Partial view of 5 hectare rice field ready for harvest, Jarmu Bong County.
Medlife estimates that 1,200 of such 5 hectare rice fields properly managed and deploying our models:
(1) Rice Field 3 harvest a year,
(2) Fish-Rice Farming,
(3) Duck, Fish-Rice Farming,
(4) Duck, Fish-Rice-vegetables Farming,
Bong County can become self-sufficient within 5 years. Our adaptation and flexible implementation of the GIZ developpp model, we cultivate and rehabilitate in partnership with farmers previously lay out swamps. Our costs are below 50% of prevailing estimates provided by donor agencies in Liberia. Liberia invested $612 million in Rice production between 2007 to 2017.
(Source: Zaza, Yanqui. J., The Perspective 2020, Atlanta Gorgia, October 6).
Picture 3: Post-harvest field in Jarmu. Notice the water in the middle and the narrow main canal or drain. Rehabilitation work will involve widening the canal and levelling the fields to support the machines (power tiller and rice planter and harvester) and to accommodate fish-rice farming in the 2021 farming seasons. We will grow and harvest rice three times in one year, beginning in 2021. 
Picture 4: New Rice for Africa (NERICA L19) Rice nursery in Suacoco, Bong County 
Picture 5: Planting rice one by one; in future this method will be replaced by using a drum seeder commonly used in India to plant rice-it is much cheaper and faster and involve no or little trauma to the seedlings
Picture 6: NERICA (New Rice for Africa) L 19 Seed Rice Field in Suacoco, Bong County. No herbicide, or pesticide was used in this field. The field is developed to produce high quality seeds to yield over 95% germination rate. These seeds will be distributed to the 225 farmers that are the direct beneficiaries of the Medlife-GIZ developpp scheme.  
Picture 7: Suacoco Rice Field, six weeks after transplanting NERICA L 19.
Picture 8: Sunset at a new fish pond used as reservoir for the rice field.
Picture 9: Jarmu Field, Bong County. Four weeks before harvest 
Picture 10: Madame Mamaka Bility, CEO Medlife-Liberia touring the Gbatalah Farm with Dr. Bility and Medlife Staff 
Picture 11: Dr. Khalipha Bility, Founder of Medlife Liberia Ltd., proudly sitting in front of a pyramid of seed rice. In 2016, Former President of Liberia, Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf donated 25 kilogram of seed rice. Since then, we have been multiplying this specialty Liberia “red rice.”  It is rich in iron and proteins. These seeds are enough to support the 225 farmers in the Medlife-GIZ developpp project COVID 19 prevention and mitigation project to be implemented in Rural Montserrado and Bong Counties. Medlife will supply the low land farmers from the Suacoco Fields. We promote other rice varieties planted under certain conditions: For example we supply Suacoco 8 and Africa #2 to our farmers planting in swamps with high iron toxicity. Developing soil testing and our nascent seed bank is a major priority in 2021-2023 plan.
Picture 12: Medlife CEO, Mrs Bility on a tour of lead Farmers, Mr. and Mrs. Quenisheer Farm, Garmu Bong County. With support from Medlife. Each Lead farmer is responsible for mentoring 5-10 other famers with a catchment area (sub-district).  Each farmer will received: seeds, tools, and cah
Picture 13: Fish Rich Field. Mr. and Mrs. Quenisheer Farm, Garmu Bong County. Notice the unplanted field on the right. Medlife will provide support in 2021 to the Lead farmer to mentor other farmers.
Picture 14: Gbatalah Field. This is where we first demonstrated that a 3 cropping system feasible and profitable in Liberia. Notice the differences in the right and left fields.

Picture 15 (sorry, at the moment not available): Tomato Camp Training Center Construction is now complete. First Cohort of trainees will start on 15 January, 2021. Training is scheduled to coincide with the planting season. The support of PPEP of Arizona USA is hereby appreciated

Picture 16: Illustrates the importance of proper extension services to support farmer. Tools, seeds and cash are necessary, but not sufficient for farmers to make the transition from subsistence to agribusiness.
Picture 17: Water Lilies are an important part of the fish-rice farming ecosystem.  
Picture 18: Mr. Quenisheer standing on the inner bund. Notice that the bunds are larger; about two meters, loaded with rich top soil. On the enlarged bunds we will grow vegetables and sill have enough space for the Medlife Power tiller and rice harvester move around easily in the field.
Picture 19: Workers finishing the installation of the rice mill in the Training Hub, gearing up for January 15. This mill is adequate for a small community; but by 2022, Medlife will need to build an industrial mill.
Apart from technical training solutions in the field and practical entrepreneurial business skills & values are included in the training.