By Amos Harris
GANTA, NIMBA COUNTY – The Cooperative Development Agency (CDA), in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has successfully concluded a week-long Cluster Development Approach workshop in Ganta, Nimba County. The initiative ended with renewed stakeholders’ commitments to strengthen agricultural cooperatives through improved data management, strict quality standards, and expanded market access.
The workshop, which concluded on Friday, May 15, 2026, was hosted at the Jackie Hotel in Ganta City. It brought together forty-five cooperative society leaders, county extension officers, value chain actors, and policymakers drawn from Montserrado, Bong, Lofa, and Nimba Counties.
The training focused on equipping participants with practical knowledge and technical tools required to strengthen cooperative development and long-term sustainability through the structured Cluster Development Approach. Participants completed intensive modules in cluster governance, production and marketing data collection, quality control, and market linkages. All sessions were specifically tailored to improve smallholder farmers’ incomes and enhance the regional competitiveness of agricultural cooperatives across Liberia.
The capacity-building sessions were facilitated by Vedat Kunt, a UNIDO International Cluster Expert, who shared global best practices and successful regional models implemented in partnership with the CDA.
Speaking during the formal closing ceremony, CDA Registrar General Madam Lwupo G. Kandakai, represented by David T. Boimah, Director for Training at the CDA, stressed that reliable data and uniform quality standards are now non-negotiable in modern agricultural markets.
“The era of selling by volume alone is over. Consumers want traceability, consistency, and quality. This workshop gives our clusters the tools to deliver that,” Boimah stated on behalf of the Registrar General.
Boimah further applauded UNIDO, the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), local value chain actors, and the various cooperative societies for their high level of participation and dedication to transforming Liberia’s agricultural landscape.
Also addressing the gathering, Lans W. Kamara, Acting Deputy Director General for Operations and Technical Services at LACRA, praised the cooperative farmers for their ongoing collaboration with the regulatory body. He assured the farmers of LACRA’s continuous institutional backing while urging cooperative leaders to maintain honesty and financial transparency in their daily operations to build trust among stakeholders.
For his part, UNIDO Representative Fred Gibson noted that the training forms an integral part of the organization’s broader technical support program designed to strengthen agro-industrial value chains throughout Liberia. He challenged the cooperatives to fully adopt the newly introduced cluster systems to make themselves attractive for private sector investment and international donor financing opportunities.
Expressing appreciation on behalf of the trainees, Madam Denise Karway, Chairperson of the United Women for Sustainable Development Cooperative Society in Gbarnga, Bong County, welcomed the initiative. She particularly praised the pictorial record-keeping tools and mobile data templates as highly practical, inclusive solutions for cooperative members with low literacy levels.
“We now know how to grade cocoa, cassava, and vegetables right at the farm gate, and easily separate Grade One from Grade Two products. That technical knowledge alone will immediately increase what our farmers earn from buyers,” Madam Karway emphasized.
At the close of the event, participants were awarded certificates of completion alongside customized action plans to initiate cluster-level data collection and organize their inaugural “Cluster Review Day” with local members. The CDA, LACRA, and UNIDO jointly pledged to conduct rigorous follow-up monitoring visits to provide on-site coaching and assess implementation progress.
The three partner institutions are further committed to scaling the initiative to additional agricultural clusters across Liberia, with an immediate focus on reinforcing the value chains of key national commodities, including cocoa, cassava, rice, and vegetables.
Participating cooperative societies and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) included the Nyor-Kwalokwalou Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Dokodan Farmers’ Cooperative Society, Beo-Sehgren Cooperative Society, Boekpa Cooperative Society, Kwakehseh Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Say-No-To-Hunger Cooperative, Blun-Kwado Cooperative Society, United Women for Sustainable Development Cooperative Society, Gelay Farmers Cooperative, Kpongajama Multipurpose Cooperative Society, the Vegetables Sellers Association of Omega Community in Montserrado County, Vornambeh Cooperative Society, and the Sebehill Cooperative Society of Lofa County.
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