Summary: To highlight the importance of revitalizing the Agricultural Bank in Liberia, Grand Bassa County District #4 Representative Alfred H. Flomo has claimed that the Agriculture and Forestry sector contributed more than 60% of the country’s GDP in 2021. We have verified his statement to be misleading.
On February 15, the Plenary of the House of Representatives (HOR) asked its Committees on Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Banking & Currency to explore the possibilities for revitalizing the Agricultural Bank of Liberia. The House of Representatives made this decision following a communication from Grand Bassa County District #4 Representative Alfred H. Flomo.
In his communication, Rep. Flomo claimed that the agriculture and forestry sectors contributed more than 60 percent of Liberia’s 2021 real gross domestic product (GDP).
A majority of the HOR members voted on the communication after the committees reviewed and advised the Plenary on the feasibility of reestablishing the bank. The HOR then passed the communication into a bill and sent it to the Senate for concurrence on May 23.
The Claim
An excerpt from Representative Flomo’s communication reads: “Distinguished colleagues, as you may be aware, agriculture, including forestry, is the primary livelihood for more than 60 percent of Liberia’s 2021 real gross domestic product (GDP).”
Rating Justification
To verify Rep. Flomo’s claim, we first contacted the lawmaker via WhatsApp about the source of the data he provided in his communication. The lawmaker, however, has not responded to our inquiry.
We then reviewed data from credible sources beginning with the Central Bank of Liberia. As revealed on page 33 of the CBL’s 2021 Annual report, Agriculture and Fisheries contributed 31% of the country’s Real GDP while Forestry contributed 8.8%. This means, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry contributed 39.8% to the Country’s Real GDP in 2021.
A review of the 2022 report on Liberia’s agricultural sector by the International Trade Administration, a U.S.-based organization that provides actionable data and information for global markets, found that agriculture, including fisheries, accounted for 29.7% of Liberia’s real GDP.
In addition, a June 2023 policy report by Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture on National Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services revealed that agriculture, including forestry, is the primary livelihood for more than 60% of Liberia’s population and accounted for 31% of its 2020 real GDP.
According to Liberia’s National Investment Commission, agriculture contributes 25-35 percent of the country’s GDP, with over 75% of the population relying on it for their livelihood. The Commission cited the World Bank as the source of its information.
Meanwhile, the World Bank says Agriculture accounts for more than 25% of the GDP of some least-developed countries.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, we conclude that Grand Bassa District #4 Representative Alfred H. Flomo did not get his facts right about the agriculture and forestry sectors’ contribution of more than 60% of Liberia’s GDP in 2021.
According to multiple sources, including the Central Bank of Liberia 2021 report, the Agriculture and fisheries sector contributed 31% of Liberia’s GDP in 2021 while the Forestry sector contributed 8.8% in that same year.
This report is produced with funding from the USAID Media Activity. The funder has No say in the editorial decisions leading to the production of this content
