11/12/2025
Liberia Benefits Major Rice Project
A milestone agriculture project with a potential to address longstanding food security problem in Liberia is set to kick off soon.
It followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the government of Liberia and the Uniland Group of Companies of Vietnam.
Under the agreement, Uniland, through its Liberian Subsidiary, Unifarm, will cultivate a pilot 50-hectre rice farm project in B**g County with potential expansion in other parts of the country.
The project seeks to enhance cultivation of the Liberian staple food, using Vietnamese technology, a move that looks set to boost government’s quest of bridging the food security gap as contained in the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
Speaking at the signing ceremony over the weekend, the Managing Director of Unifarm Peter Edward Dinning who signed on behalf of Uniland Group Chairman Van Trung Le, expressed excitement that the company and the Liberian Ministry of Agriculture have finally sealed the move.
Mr. Dinning disclosed that the first crop is expected to be planted by May next year, and equipment will arrive in Liberia within 45 days from the signing of the MOU.
The agreement aims to increase local rice production, reduce import dependence, and potentially make Liberia an exporter.
The Company said the Unifarm Liberia project includes capital investment, job creation, and technology transfer to boost agricultural productivity.
According to MD Dinning, using Vietnamese technology, harvest could be ready within three months of planting the first crop.
For his part, Agriculture Minister Dr. Alexander Nuetah is particularly pleased that the pilot phase will introduce technology and equipment, create jobs and build the capacity of local farmers to scale up rice production in Liberia.
Minister Nuetah expressed gratitude to the Uniland Group for undertaking such would be hugely rewarding project in Liberia especially bringing a Professor from the Vietnam Rice Institute, who will assist in rice cultivation and training of locals.
Negotiation on the agreement started in March of 2025, and the Minister is pleased about the mutual benefits of the partnership, including reducing import dependence of Liberia’s staple food and potentially becoming exporters.
Explaining details to this publication after the signing ceremony in Monrovia on Friday, December 5, 2025, Minister Nuetah said “The Company is going to bring in Vietnamese technology to support rice production. They will replicate that in other counties or other locations where rice production is high. We are going to provide a land for Uniland Vietnam, through their subsidiary here, Unifarm to produce rice for the market. It's going to be scaled up to commercial level. The team in Vietnam will provide all the technology and equipment that is needed to produce on the 50 hectares. And when they deem it necessary to scale up for commercial purposes, both for the Liberian market and international market, then that will happen”.
The Minister said under the ARREST Agenda, the intention of the government is to make Liberia self-sufficient, especially in the country’s staple food, rice. “Rice is our major stable so if you know, in our national development plan, we've targeted doing 50,000 hectares, with 2000 hectare producing high yielding varieties of rice, we should be able to produce sufficient food or rice to feed ourselves. And we think the coming in of the Vietnamese, who have improved technology that can produce more than five metric tons per hectare, it will be a milestone if we achieve in scaling our production to that level, I think it will be great. So what matters most to us is the results that we expect to get, not the efforts we put in, because that what we sign off to” the Agriculture Minister added.
As of yet, both parties have not disclosed any monetary value of the deal but with heavy machinery and technology involved, the move looks massive and mutually beneficial.
“Well I don't want to associate it with dollars and cents, but I know they are going to be bringing in machines and other things. They are going to be hiring labor to do the job. It's about transfer of knowledge and job creation. I think you heard him, hopefully by May next year; we should be able to get the first production up. And he has assured me that in 45 days, the equipment to produce will be on the ship coming so we want to check it 45 days to see what happens” Minister Nuetah responded when asked about the financial value of the deal.
He then lauded colleagues and other Liberians who were involved in the negotiation process, attracting such huge investment to Liberia, stating that the country will welcome any well-intentioned investor with interest in the agriculture sector.
The move looks to potentially position Liberia towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production especially the country’s staple, delivering a major promise by President Joseph Boakai under his government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
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