Land in Liberia’s humid subtropics is particularly well suited to cocoa, a crop for which strong demand has been consistently forecast since the early 1990s. Solid prices for this export crop are projected to accompany growth in demand until at least 2030.

Liberia enjoys two complementary assets with a potential for phenomenal growth once properly leveraged: fertile land and experienced cocoa farmers. Currently both assets are undervalued and captive to trends in under investment. Where farmers previously managed cocoa farms as businesses, ageing non-productive trees and a deterioration of trust in value chain participants has obliged farmers to favor subsistence agriculture over cocoa cultivation.

The Government of Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture proposes that cocoa farmers revitalize the sector following various reforms such as market liberalization. This National Development Cocoa Strategy proposes Ministry-led, ways and means of reducing poverty through cocoa cultivation, and increasing food security in rural areas by tripling real income received from cocoa over the next five to eight years.