 |
| Bernard G. Goah |
Liberia’s problem is not lack of food. The country is a land of great geographical varieties. Liberia has good weather, good soil, and plentiful underground aquifers. The country has creeks and rivers that could be used for irrigation purposes year-round without depending solely on rain-fed agriculture activities. Contextually, our country’s problem is the lack of logistics infrastructure.
Liberia has more or less 4 million people. And if mechanized farming was to be considered, a handful of mechanized farmers could over-feed the entire country in no time. But apart from that, the various pockets of localized farming that are going on in various villages across the country, could as well feed a good percentage of the country if the proper storage and transport mechanisms are put into place.
We can all agree that without a proper road network, both localized farming and mechanized farming will be meaningless because food supply will not reach those in need in the urban areas. The little that manage to reach the city will be priced so much, ordinary citizens won't be able to afford them. Only those that are well placed in government would be able to buy.
Therefore, I will argue that transport infrastructure is one of the main constraints on the Liberian economy right now and will continue to be so unless the issue of all-weather road network across the country is addressed.
Also, Improving road networks will boost trade and commerce in rural areas. And the quickest and fastest way Liberia’s lack of infrastructure could be remedy is to attract and engage investors through Public and Private Partnerships.
No doubt, Liberia will surely develop rapidly if investors invest in logistics infrastructure across the whole of the country.
It is the lack of all-whether-road network that is killing us as a country.