Liberia
A cassava production and processing enterprise
In Liberia cassava is a staple food at the centre of the food security chain. However, women are faced with significant challenges which constrain their productivity and their ability to earn substantial income from cassava production. These include a lack of appropriate processing equipment, transport to market, and farming tools and the inability to afford the necessary inputs for optimal production.
In Ganta (the largest city in Nimba County) and surrounding villages, 500 women are involved in the UN Women initiative to turn a small-scale women’s cassava production operation into an income-generating cassava production and processing enterprise. This is potentially a rich agricultural region with high productive capacity. However, at present the region is recovering from the civil conflict and operating at an unusually low level of economic output and crop productivity. New processing, marketing and management skills will be developed to establish profitable businesses measured through increased incomes, improved yields and expanded markets.
Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women talks about the importance of Economic Empowerment on Liberia International Women’s Day:
