01/07/2009 (AllAfrica.com) - The Sustainable Tree Crop Program (STCP) of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has distributed 33, 000 pre-germinated high-yielding oil palm seedlings imported from Cameroon amongst 150 oil palm farmers in Bong County.

The seedlings were distributed among farmers divided into five groups from Kpai and Jorquelleh districts.

The distributing agent, IITA, is a research oriented organization currently providing support to Cocoa and Oil Palm farmers in Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties.

STCP -Liberia oil palm project coordinator Augustine Fayiah told The Informer that the distribution of the improved variety of oil palm seedlings amongst the farmers is part of a two-year comprehensive revitalization program of the oil palm sector of the country mainly in Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties.

The aim of STCP is to ensure the potential of the infant oil palm industry to rapidly emerge from its infancy to a more meaningful and sustainable system in order to realize productivity amongst poor rural farmers as they strive to rebuild their lives and personal economy following uninterrupted years of backwardness squarely attributed to civil unrest that uprooted lots of people and establishments in Liberia.

Mr. Fayiah indicated said the oil palm project further seeks to improve the technical skills of farmers through the provision of specialized training to enable them properly manage their establishments in a sustainable way that will enhance the preservation of biodiversity in these areas and create partnership for socio-economic empowerment.

In the past, he emphasized, farmers were not provided the requisite training to properly manage and maintain their farms which resulted into farmers facing decline in production and eventually led to the collapsed of some farms. "These are issues we tried to address in a more sustainable manner," he added.

The oil palm project coordinator asserted that STCP, as part of its commitment to transfer knowledge and skills to farmers benefiting its program, a participatory training methodology was developed which led to the formation of the Farmer Learning Groups (FLGs) in each community benefiting from the project.

The FLGs requires each beneficiary to undergo nine months intensive training on the field in palm management and production before he /she is eligible to receive seedlings for planting.

This is designed to actualize the impact of the project in the various communities said Fayiah.

He disclosed that as part of the 'exit and sustainability' strategies put in place to ensure the viability of program even following the organization's intervention, those providing training in the FLGs were selected from communities directly benefiting the project and trained as master trainers covering all aspects of palm production.

Trainers were drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) in Bong, as well as Dr. Budu, an oil palm specialist from the University of Legon, Ghana.

Five nurseries were constructed in five communities for the 33,000 seedlings with each nursery site being provided more than six thousand seedlings.

The farmers are also receiving basic farming implements including wheelbarrows, shovels, diggers, and hoes, amongst others to enhance their farming activities.