Africa-Press – Liberia. Following expert presentations and group discussions, stakeholders adopted a seasonal fixed pricing model aimed at offering predictability to farmers and ensuring alignment with international market trends through periodic reviews.
The Liberia Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (LACRA) on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 convened a high-level multi-stakeholder workshop to validate pricing models for cocoa and coffee and officially announced farm-gate prices for the 2025–2026 season.
Held in Monrovia, the event brought together key actors from across the agricultural value chain, including government ministries, farmer cooperatives, exporters, financial institutions, civil society organizations and international development partners.
The workshop focused on ensuring transparency, competitiveness, and sustainability in Liberia’s cocoa and coffee sectors.
Following expert presentations and group discussions, stakeholders adopted a seasonal fixed pricing model aimed at offering predictability to farmers and ensuring alignment with international market trends through periodic reviews.
The agreed farm-gate prices for cocoa include Grade 1: USD 4.73 per kilogram, Grade 2: USD 3.54 per kilogram and Grade 3: USD 2.36 per kilogram.
Stakeholders also affirmed their commitment to ensuring farmers earn a living income, promoting quality and traceability, and supporting cooperative-based adherence to international standards.
To boost farmer awareness and education, LACRA announced the launch of a new public information campaign. This includes a 30-minute radio program on ELBC Radio to air twice monthly, targeting farmers, local buyers, and exporters.
The program will also be relayed through rural community radio stations, the Liberia Agriculture & Environmental Journalist Network, newspapers and promotional jingles.
Other resolutions from the workshop include providing farmers with accessible pricing materials and breakdowns, supported by improved data collection systems Including organic cocoa and coffee standards in future pricing formulations.
The workshop concluded with a collective affirmation by all stakeholders, pledging their commitment to an inclusive, transparent, and environmentally responsible pricing system.
LACRA is expected to immediately issue public pronouncements of the validated prices and submit the resolution to relevant national authorities for implementation.
In his opening remarks, Acting Director General of LACRA, Dan Sayeh, said the pricing initiative was a major step toward building a fair value chain for farmers, buyers, and exporters. He emphasized the importance of agriculture in Liberia’s economic development, noting that the sector employs over 60% of the population.
“The vision includes transforming agriculture to improve education, healthcare, and infrastructure,” Sayeh said. “Plans were also discussed to organize farmers’ markets for better data collection and traceability, addressing persistent issues like cocoa smuggling.”
According to LACRA, the workshop signals the beginning of a series of reforms aimed at strengthening the cocoa and coffee sectors and delivering greater value to Liberian farmers.
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