On September 12, 2023 Minister of Agriculture Jeanine Cooper appeared on a radio program, Voices of the Coalition which is aired on Okay FM and made claims about improvements in the agriculture sector.
The Claim
Minister Cooper was discussing progress being made in the agriculture sector under the current administration and claimed that the agriculture sector grew by 5.9% in 2022.
Claim: Liberia’s agriculture sector grew by 5.9% in 2022.
Verdict: Correct
How We Fact Checked This Claim?
So, we decided to fact check the claims made by the minister by checking publicly available information.
We first checked the Ministry of Agriculture website but did not see any information on growth in Liberia’s agriculture sector for 2022.
To further research the Minister’s claim, we conducted google search of growth in Liberia’s agriculture sector for 2022.
Our search found a July 18, 2023 World Bank press release on the launch of the fourth edition of its annual Liberia Economic Update.
The press release states that the fourth edition of Liberia Economic Update, “Getting Rice Right for Productivity and Poverty Alleviation shows that growth in the agriculture sector accelerated to 5.9% in 2022 from 3.3% in 2021.It adds that the growth in the agriculture sector was driven by increased crop production especially rice and cassava which are produced primarily for domestic consumption.
Excerpt from the report read: “Growth in the agricultural sector accelerated to 5.9 percent in 2022, from 3.3 percent in 2021. Increased crop production, especially rice and cassava produced primarily for domestic consumption, were the main drivers of growth in the sector.1 Whereas rubber and palm oil production declined by 26.5 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, rice production increased by 13.0 percent, about 10.0 percent above the five-year average. The production of cassava, a key staple that substitutes for rice in household diets, also increased significantly during the year, about 15.0 percent above the five-year average. In the last three years, growth in the agriculture sector has gained momentum, averaging 3.9 percent from 2020 to 2022, but remains below the pre-Ebola average growth rate (5.0 percent from 2011 to 2013)”.
“Growth in the agricultural sector accelerated to 5.9 percent in 2022, from 3.3 percent in 2021. Increased crop production, especially rice and cassava produced primarily for domestic consumption, were the main drivers of growth in the sector.1 Whereas rubber and palm oil production declined by 26.5 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, rice production increased by 13.0 percent, about 10.0 percent above the five-year average. The production of cassava, a key staple that substitutes for rice in household diets, also increased significantly during the year, about 15.0 percent above the five-year average. In the last three years, growth in the agriculture sector has gained momentum, averaging 3.9 percent from 2020 to 2022, but remains below the pre-Ebola average growth rate (5.0 percent from 2011 to 2013)”.
Conclusion
Based of the facts from our research, we conclude that the claim made by the Minister of Agriculture that the agriculture sector grew to 5.9% in 2022 is correct.
The World Bank fourth edition of Liberia Economic Update, “Getting Rice Rights for Productivity and Poverty Alleviation” shows that the country’s agriculture sector grew by 5.9% in 2022 from 3.3% in 2021.
This report was developed with the support of Internews through the USAID Media Activity project. The funder has no say in the editorial decision leading to the production of this content.