KPATAWEE, Bong County, Liberia — Liberia’s efforts to strengthen domestic food production have received a boost with the commencement of harvesting on a 100-acre rice farm at Kpatawee Waterfall, following an official launch by Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah.
The farm, operated by Gbedin Agro-Business Incorporated, was established in June 2026 and is projected to yield approximately 120 metric tons of rice.
The company has also outlined plans to increase the size of the operation to 1,500 acres, although the proposed expansion will depend on acquiring additional agricultural machinery and rice-processing facilities.
The harvesting ceremony comes a day after the Government of Liberia received more than 300 pieces of agricultural machinery and equipment donated by the People’s Republic of China. President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. led the official handover on behalf of the government.
During the launch in Kpatawee, the Ministry of Agriculture supplied fertilizers and agrochemicals and made a combine harvester available to support the operation. The intervention is expected to improve harvesting efficiency, reduce dependence on manual labour and lower production costs.
Minister Nuetah praised the company’s investment in commercial agriculture and called on farmers across the country to make greater use of available government support to increase food production.
He encouraged Liberians with access to farmland to cultivate their properties, assuring them that the government was prepared to provide assistance, including access to agricultural machinery.
The minister stressed that expanding domestic production remains essential to reducing Liberia’s dependence on imported food, particularly rice, which is a major staple in the country.
Beyond its Bong County operation, Gbedin Agro-Business Incorporated maintains a 250-acre lowland rice farm in Gbedi, Nimba County. The company is also preparing to introduce Kpatawee Rice, a locally produced brand aimed at strengthening the availability of homegrown rice in the Liberian market.
Project Manager Harry Kerkula welcomed the commencement of harvesting, describing it as an important step toward expanding commercial rice cultivation. He, however, emphasized that achieving the proposed 1,500-acre target would require substantial investment in additional equipment.
According to Kerkula, the company currently has three tractors but needs more tractors, power tillers and modern processing facilities to support increased production.
He identified a rice-processing machine with the capacity to handle at least 10 metric tons daily as one of the major requirements for the planned expansion.
Kerkula maintained that the company has the capacity to grow its operations if the necessary equipment is secured.
The Kpatawee initiative represents a private-sector contribution to Liberia’s agricultural development agenda, particularly efforts to improve rice production through mechanization, access to farming inputs and investment in commercial agriculture.
However, the project’s ability to reach its proposed expansion target will largely depend on the timely acquisition of the machinery and processing infrastructure required to sustain large-scale cultivation.
