Strengthening seed systems in Liberia: EU-project improving access to high-quality coffee seedlings via regional seedling nursery hubs

13 April 2026

In Liberia, the EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project is expanding access to high-quality coffee seedlings from research facilities to farming communities through a centralized coffee nursery hub model.

National context

In the pre-war Liberia era, coffee was a high economic crop, especially Liberica coffee, which is unique to the country. The coffee sector in Liberia produced 5 percent of the world's coffee. However, the 14-year civil war destroyed coffee production systems. Post-war, Liberian farmers relied on informal seed distribution networks to keep their farms alive, facing a high risk of loss from climate adversities including pests and diseases affecting low-yielding varieties and non-availability of good quality planting materials.

As part of the revitalization efforts of Liberia's coffee sector, the EU-backed project has established four centralized seedling nursery hubs to improve access to high-quality coffee seedlings for producers in Liberia's central, eastern, and northwestern regions. The model was conceptualized and employed after the distribution of 267,000 coffee seedlings to farmers in 2025.

"The idea of centralizing coffee seedling nursery hubs in project-producing counties came about after one of our monitoring missions to beneficiary communities," said Dr. Ranjana Bhattacharjee, Project Coffee Lead. "We observed that coffee nurseries established by the farmers in different communities after receiving the seedlings from IITA/CARI were poorly managed, showing the need for a different approach to increase access to high-quality seedlings from research gates."

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), and the Seeds Development and Certification Agency (SDCA), worked together to identify ideal locations across the selected regions in Liberia to establish the centralized seedling nursery hubs.

"We partnered with collaborating government institutions like CARI, LACRA, MoA, and SDCA to identify ideal access points for seedling producers and distribution," said Dr. Ranjana Bhattacharjee . "We were specifically looking at all of the ideal topographic characteristics for establishing the regional centralized coffee seedling nursery hubs."

IITA, through the EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project, is expected to transfer 400,000 coffee seedlings across the four centralized nursery hubs in Bong, Lofa Nimba, and Montserrado in 2026. These nursery hubs will act as centralized seedling distribution hubs to benefit coffee-producing farmers from Bomi, Bong, Montserrado, Lofa, and Nimba counties as well as other counties where coffee can be successfully grown. Eventually, they will become business hubs wherein high-quality coffee seedlings will be produced every year and distributed to farmers.

In addition to improving access to high-quality coffee seedlings, the nursery hubs will also serve as centers for capacity strengthening of extension officers as well as farmers through knowledge transfer and improve beneficiary skills on best coffee nursery production practices.

"These nursery hubs are not only access points for high-quality seedlings but are knowledge centers wherein beneficiaries will be trained on best agronomic and management practices," said Dr. Ranjana Bhattacharjee, Coffee Value Chain Lead, EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project. "Knowledge transfer will cover topics such as good agronomic practices including proper planting hole sizes, pruning techniques, fertilizer and insecticide application, soil fertility management, and pest and disease control among others," said Dr. Richard Asare, Senior Scientist in Coffee Value Chain, Seeds4Liberia Project.

IITA is one of the implementing institutions of the EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project. Under the project, IITA leads cassava, coffee, and soybean value chains, WorldFish leads the fish value chain, while AfricaRice-the project's lead implementing organization-oversees the rice component. The project is implemented in collaboration with the MoA,), the National Fisheries Authority (NaFAA), LACRA, and SDCA.

Accomplishment so far

Under the EU-funded project, IITA has completed a germplasm collection and diversity study on Liberica, Robusta, and Arabica coffee from across Liberia, established a 2-hectare national coffee gene bank and a 1-hectare Liberica mother garden at CARI, and developed pre-germination nurseries with 400,000 seedlings for distribution in 2026 through the four established centralized seedling nursery hubs, along with a conventional growth chamber for stem-cuttings for transplanting in the mother garden plot. So far, coffee has been transplanted in 135 hectares of farmers' fields by 362 farmers, while training has been provided to about 30 extension workers, farmer leaders, and college interns in 2025 covering topics such as good agronomic practices in coffee, climate-smart coffee, and agroforestry systems.

As Liberia embarks on revamping its seed systems, including coffee, to diversify its economy, the EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project is helping catalyze? national development frameworks such as the NADP.

Contributed by: George A. Harris, Communication Officer,
AfricaRice-Liberia Station/EU-funded Seeds4Liberia Project

DISCLAIMER: THE SEEDS4LIBERIA PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. ITS CONTENTS ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR AND IMPLEMENTING INSTITUTION(S) OF THE PROJECT AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION.