Nimba Western Range Iron Ore Project, Liberia Biodiversity Conservation Programme 2011-2015 Report of an Investigation into Continuous Cropping Opportunities in Northern Nimba Adam Manvell VERSION DATE: 23 JUNE 2013 ArcelorMittal Liberia Ltd. P.O. Box 1275 Tubman Boulevard at 15th Street Sinkor, Monrovia Liberia T +231 77 018 056 www.arcelormittal.com Western Range Iron Ore Project, Liberia Biodiversity Conservation Programme, 2011-2015 Investigations into Continuous Cropping Opportunities in Northern Nimba Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 3 2. MARKETING CHANNELS IN NORTHERN NIMBA........................................................................ 4 2.1 Marketplaces ........................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Other Routes to Markets ......................................................................................................... 7 2.3 A Look over the Borders ......................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Summary of Market Channels in Northern Nimba ................................................................ 10 3. PERENNIAL CROP APPRAISAL ................................................................................................. 11 4. SUGAR CANE VALUE CHAINS ................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 13 4.2 Cane Juice Processing Equipment ....................................................................................... 13 4.2 Cane Juice Factory Operations ............................................................................................. 14 4.3 Growing Sugar Cane ............................................................................................................. 16 4.4 Cane Juice Marketing ........................................................................................................... 17 4.5 Outlook .................................................................................................................................. 18 5. Plantain-Banana Value Chains ..................................................................................................... 20 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 20 5.2 Growing Plantain ................................................................................................................... 20 5.3 Marketing Plantain ................................................................................................................ 22 5.4 Outlook .................................................................................................................................. 24 6. CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................... 25 6.1 Closing Thoughts .................................................................................................................. 25 6.2 Summary of Recommendations ............................................................................................ 25 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 27 List of Abbreviations AML ArcelorMittal Liberia DSO Direct Shipping Ore ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment FDA Forestry Development Authority GIS Geographic Information System Page 2 of 29 Western Range Iron Ore Project, Liberia Biodiversity Conservation Programme, 2011-2015 Investigations into Continuous Cropping Opportunities in Northern Nimba 1. INTRODUCTION The overarching context of this report is a quest to find means of influencing local landuse pathways in northern Nimba to safeguard four forest blocks: the East Nimba Nature Reserve and the Gba, Zor and Bele Community Forests. Specifically it explores some of the the opportunities and constraints around two continuous cropping practises already found in the area, sugar cane and plantain, through a value chain approach. The report is based on one month's fieldwork (7th March to 6th April, 2013) which included visits to two cross-border markets in Guinea as well as a short period in Monrovia. Fieldwork was ambitiously targeted at the sixteen study towns listed below: 1. Bonlah 2. Lugbeyee 3. Bentol 4. Vayampa 5. Sehyi-geh 6. Makinto 7. Zolowee 8. Gbapa 9. Leagbala 10. Camp 4 11. Kahnla 12. Sehtontuo 13. Dulay 14. Geipa 15. Yolowee 16. Zortapa Because of the need to understand the role of market channels in the region, field work time had to be split between visiting the study towns and various market places. In the end, it was not possible to visit four of the sixteen study towns (shown underlined above) and several others were visited only very briefly. The methodology adopted was generally to seek out key informants in each town for informal discussions, which sometimes involved farm or mill visits. Prior experience in some of the towns around Tokadeh and at Bonlah, helped with finding suitable people to talk to. Discussions with Edmund Gbaa were also very helpful in this and other regards. In some instances, unannounced town visits after a long drive or walk meant that I had to talk to whoever was available as more knowledgeable informants were sometimes absent on their farms. The overall objective was to try and get a good grasp of the range of marketing opportunities and constraints across a large and diverse area with a good degree of complexity stemming from its position along two national borders. The results reported here will hopefully provide a solid basis to look more closely at household level opportunities and constraints through targeted surveys. The report is structured as follows. The first section examines the various marketing channels in the region by considering marketplaces, other routes to market and cross-border issues. It then briefly examines the range of perennial crop options in the area before turning to examine the value chains of sugar cane and plantain. Each value chain examination terminates with a review of possible directions for future development. The report then concludes with some final reflections and a summary of recommendations. Following this is an appendix that reviews proposals made in the Phase 2 ESIA (Volume 3, Part 1.2 ) for promoting sustainable agriculture in the region. Page 3 of 29 Western Range Iron Ore Project, Liberia Biodiversity Conservation Programme, 2011-2015 Investigations into Continuous Cropping Opportunities in Northern Nimba 2. MARKETING CHANNELS IN NORTHERN NIMBA There are a variety of channels by which farm products move from producers in northern Nimba to their eventual consumers. Though the marketing options available to the producer are partly shaped by the demand and nature of their particular products, the specifics of their location are paramount to their range of choice: marketing channels are configured very differently for example between Bentol, Gbapa and Setontuo. To better understand these differences, a useful distinction can be made between dedicated marketplaces where producers and traders assemble on a weekly or daily basis to transact, and less visible and more diffuse channels where traders either go directly to producers or producers organise themselves to expedite their goods to distant buyers. Key aspects of these different channels in northern Nimba are introduced below followed by a brief discussion about one of the most complicated factors influencing markets in the area, its borders. 2.1 Marketplaces Figure 1 illustrates the most significant marketplaces for the 16 study towns. The distinction made between daily and weekly markets is however somewhat problematic. Sanniquellie could perhaps better be described, following Handwerker (1978), as a daily market with an important periodic function, since Saturday is with doubt a day on which a significant volume of exchange takes place. Karnplay, which is rather less important for the study towns could be similarly classified. In contrast, though the cities of Nzérékoré and Danané are said to have peaks in trade on certain days of the week (Wednesday and Saturday respectively), there is still a large volume of trade conducted throughout the week, at least it is said in Nzérékoré—–the situation in Danané is unknown, but in any case it is (currently) only of minor significance for the study towns. The periodic market system in Nimba county is relatively recent and was imposed by the Liberian government in the wake of its 'pacification' of the region in the 1920s (Handwerker, 1980). Even as late as the 1950s the District Commissioner would fine town chiefs who did not send any market women to Sanniquellie (Kaye, 1977). In more recent times, several periodic markets have appeared in northern Nimba but not all of them have persisted. Though road maintenance has often been significant in the success of these new markets, other factors, such as local politics should also be born in mind. A brief outline of the history of some of these markets is useful because not only is it instructive for contemplating the long-term development of market opportunities in the area,