Stakeholders establish Liberia’s first National Coffee Mother Garden to help revitalize production

LIBERIA – The International Trade Centre (ITC), in partnership with the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI), has established Liberia’s first National Coffee Mother Garden.

 In this landmark development for Liberia’s coffee industry, the initiative seeks to transform the country’s coffee sector by producing high-quality coffee seeds locally, reducing reliance on imported seeds, and making reliable planting materials accessible to farmers.

The garden integrates intercropping with food crops, promoting agroforestry and enhancing biodiversity, contributing to Liberia’s broader environmental goals.

This practice supports soil quality, reduces erosion, and provides additional sources of income and food for local communities, underscoring ITC and CARI’s commitment to sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship.

By boosting seed propagation, the National Coffee Mother Garden is poised to play a crucial role in revitalizing coffee production nationwide.

This one-acre garden at CARI is home to 4,500 Robusta and native Liberica coffee plants, selected for their distinctive flavors and resilience to local conditions. The garden is managed by CARI to showcase agroforestry practices that can be replicated by local farmers.

The long-term vision is to build a robust and competitive coffee industry in Liberia. By empowering local farmers and promoting sustainable methods, the garden aims to position Liberia as a key player in the coffee market regionally and globally.

According to Index Mundi, Liberia’s coffee production peaked at 209,000 60kg bags in 1985. But in the years since, coffee production has dropped considerably for a number of complex reasons.

As part of this decline, more farmers are growing more profitable cash crops instead, such as cocoa and natural rubber.

Many of the coffee farms are more than 50 years old. Though the coffee sector has been neglected, farmers who are still somewhat engaged in the cultivation of the crop in the West African country are experiencing very low- and poor-quality harvests and yields.

This is partly due to the lack of knowledge on improved post-harvest management practices and techniques. The farmers are accustomed to the use of rudimentary methods for coffee cultivation.

However, Liberia is best known for Coffea liberica: a coffee species that produces large cherries.

In part, this helps to enhance the sweetness of liberica, as well as prolonging its aftertaste. In recent years, these qualities have helped to increase liberica’s presence in the specialty coffee sector.

ReportLinker projects Liberia’s coffee production to reach approximately 9,770 bags of 60 kg by 2028, a slight increase from around 9,760 bags of 60 kg in 2023. This represents a stagnant year-on-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0%. 

In terms of domestic consumption, Liberia reported zero metric tons of coffee consumption in both 2017 and 2018, indicating no change within this period.

The majority of coffee consumed in Liberia is imported from neighbouring countries. And while there are no coffee shops, some hotels and restaurants serve coffee. For the most part, people drink instant coffee, including Nescafé. 

Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.