By Alpha G. Gray
MONROVIA — Galakpai Kollie, a young Liberian farmer born and reared in Wenwuta Town, Zorzor District, Lofa County, is calling on the Government of Liberia, International Donors and Development Partners, as well as well-meaning Liberians for agricultural assistance.
Galakpai’s ambition is to give back to the poor through job creation by means of agriculture. This young Liberian intends to help boost Liberia’s Agriculture sector through the production of rice, cocoa, oil palm, and etcetera.
It is believed that over the next few decades, agriculture will continue to be the dominant sector of employment and a vital source of labor for young people in Liberia.
Harnessing young people’s potential to participate meaningfully in their food systems, from production to plate, has the potential to increase their productivity and revenues, as well as ensure the resilience and food security of their households.
However, broad generalizations often highlight that young people are disinterested in agriculture, turned away by the difficulty of the work, social stigmas, and the challenges faced in earning a suitable income.
To prove this untrue for the young people in Liberia, Galakpai Kollie, with passion for agriculture and in an effort to increase food production in Liberia, embarked on such a great project.
Since the civil war, our country has suffered from chronic food insecurity. And base on the country’s low agricultural production and poor household incomes, Galakpai Kollie got motivated to join and strive in the agriculture sector of Liberia.
In an effort to buttress the Government of Liberia’s effort regarding food production and food security, Galakpai Kollie broke through the chains and began his farming activities in Lofa County, his hometown. He began his career project on October 4, 2016. His project is being run on a 20 acre of land.
Over the last four (4) years, Galakpai has been involved in the productions of rice, cocoa, and oil palm.
For the past season, he was able to harvest a small amount of produce due to the challenges he is faced with. Currently, Galakpai is able to harvest hundred bags of rice, five bags of cocoa, and ten gallons of oil palm. For now he supplies the Zowolo Market in Zorzor with his produce in limited quantity.
It will interest you to know that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the unfortunate death of his sponsor, Madam Elizabeth Warnpen in the United States of America, Galakpai has found it extremely difficult to carry on his project to achieve his dream as a farmer.
As a young farmer based in Lofa County, he is kindly appealing to Liberian Leader H.E. George Weah, International Donors and Development Partners and those in national government to render his agricultural project support in cash or kind.
Below are few items needed by Galakpai Kollie to boost the activities for his farming project:
1. 100 pcs of cutlasses2. 50 pcs of shovels3. 25 pcs of pin axe4. 50 pcs of diggers5. 600 pcs of calix oil palm seeds6. 500 pcs of supergene oil palm seeds
As a means of empowering other young Liberian citizens, Galakpai Kollie has provided job opportunities for several Liberians and envisage doing more.
Currently, Galakpai Kollie has a total of one hundred persons working on his farm in Lofa County, of which fifty (50) are males and fifty (50) females, and he believes with aid from the Liberian Government and International Donors and Development Partners, more Liberians will be given employment opportunities to buttress the Government of Liberia’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development through agriculture.
