Kerala Agricultural University to help Liberia in farm development

Thrissur: Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has agreed to provide training and support to Liberia. Vice-chancellor Dr Rajendran said the university was ready to host training programmes with necessary permissions from the Union government. “We have advanced technologies for crop production, plant protection, post-harvest processing and value addition. They can be replicated in Liberia," he said after discussions with Myers Gonwongbay, the director of the World Food Programme for Africa and Eastern Europe here on Monday.

“Liberian students also can seek admission for KAU courses through established procedure. We can even send an expert team to assess the ground realities there and propose suitable programmes.” Mr Gonwongbay, who also visited various centres of KAU, said his country was keen to have trained manpower to push the growth of the domestic agricultural sector. “I have come to KAU because of its proven technologies and expertise," he said.

“Almost 80 percent of land in Liberia is cultivable. If we get technical support and training production can be doubled, leading to enhancement of income to our population.” Registrar Dr S. Leenakumari, director of research Dr. Sajan Kurien, Director of Extension Dr. S. Estelita, Associate Director Dr. Alexander George, Former head of Central Training Institute Dr. Joy Mathew and Jacob Thundiyil, president, People's Rural Education Movement participated in the discussions.