National Cocoa Export Strategy.

To transform the cocoa sector such that it will be an engine of inclusive growth, a vehicle for greater regional integration and a promoter of the Made in Liberia brand in markets, this Strategy has been developed by the Government of Liberia. Improvements in the cocoa sector must lead to market penetration (increasing exports in existing markets), product development (increasing exports of new products in existing markets), market development (increasing exports of existing products in new markets), and full diversification (increasing exports of new products in new markets).

To realize the export potential and increase the export competitiveness of the Liberian cocoa sector, the following Vision has been adopted: "To become an agent of transformation in the cocoa sector, driving large scale sustainable job creation and augmenting access to economic empowerment opportunities for small entrepreneurs through increased exports". This Vision will be realized by the following strategic objectives, which are designed to comprehensively address the overall weaknesses identified across the value chain (i) strengthen the overall trade support network; (ii) improve access to infrastructure and services; (iii) increase skills and the influx of best practices and enable product diversification in the sector; (iv) facilitate increased access to and strengthen the ability of enterprises to utilize and trade information.

To make agriculture more productive and sustainable, the Strategy aims at (i) transforming Liberian cocoa from the subsistence crop that it is currently, to a carefully planned, market engine of equitable growth and value distribution; (ii) enabling product diversification in the sector, especially in certified cocoa, giving familiarity to the farmers with measurement and quality standards; and (iii) speeding up efforts to rehabilitate cocoa farms abandoned during the civil war, and organize farm operations better.

Rural poverty reduction shall be addressed by both facilitating access to finance to smallholder farmers in those areas and extending the national electricity grid to rural areas to improve processing and warehousing operations.

To enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the proposed interventions seek for (i) improved capacities of cooperatives and related associations of producers to cater to the needs of the sector; (ii) better ability to penetrate new markets due to product diversification (including certification); (iii) marketing promotion of Liberian cocoa in target markets; (iv) increased support to Cooperative Development Agency (CDA), which is the main agency for development and certification in the country; (v) support to Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in the cocoa sector to impart relevant training to their constituents; (vi) improved land management practices especially at the smallholder and cooperative level with interventions designed to sensitize producers and producer associations to the processes and best practices involved in cocoa cultivation to be able to enter into commercial deals involving investors, banks and other implementing partners; and (vii) increased support to women cross-border traders and other female groups/actors active in the sector in mentoring, improved negotiation skills, technical support, and access to efficient grievance mechanisms.

As for the Governance, main action proposed is the establishment of a Liberian Export Council (LEC) to facilitate the public–private partnership in elaborating, coordinating, and implementing the NES in order to optimize the allocation of both resources and efforts across the wide spectrum of stakeholders.