MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The National Food Assistance Agency (NFAA) convened an inaugural board meeting on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at the agency’s new office building in Fiamah – Sinkor, a few days following the official signing of the Performance Contract by Director-General Borkai A.M. Sirleaf.
The meeting brought together executives of the board, including Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah who chairs the board, Minister of Education Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah, Minister of Commerce and Industry Madam Magdalene Ellen Dagoseh, other members of the board and some development partners from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
In his introductory remarks Dr. Nuetah recounted the historical growth of NFAA, singling out the administration of late President William V. S. Tubman, when a number of Executive Orders (Eos) were issued for active food assistance programs, involving specifically public primary school feeding, across Liberia.
The Board Chairman termed NFAA as a key institution of government through which significant deliverables of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) will directly impact the lives of citizens. He therefore expressed his warmest
appreciation to stakeholders who showed up for the meeting, underscoring the need to do so periodically as NFAA is gearing up to kickstart robust food assistance activities across the country.
Dr. Nuetah then assured his full support to the agency as one of the key drivers in the rollout of the nation’s development plan – the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID).
For his part, Director General Borkai A.M. Sirleaf provided updates on the rebranding and repositioning efforts by his management team since His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. appointed them to steer the affairs of NFAA. He disclosed that the agency had been inactive for many years, evidenced by the lack of a suitable office space, negligible annual budgetary allotment, non-existent office equipment and facilities including furniture and logistics coupled with poor relationships with key stakeholders. “When we first went to the Ministry of Public Works compound where the agency had been housed with a two-room office space for over a decade, there I realized why the agency was being dormant for all those years,” Hon. Sirleaf lamented.
According to DG Sirleaf, it then dawned on him that relocation was the first step to take if the mandate of repositioning the agency was anything worth going by. He said with the determination to take the step of relocating NFAA from the compound of the Ministry of Public Works done, several other key achievements were recorded barely four months upon their appointment to the agency. He then outlined those achievements to include the following:
Enhanced Operational Capacity: resulting from support by the UNDP which made available essential office furniture, stationery, and equipment that are significantly improving our working environment currently.
Budgetary Improvements: from the agency’s budget ceiling under the FY2025 National Budget which now includes funding for goods and services and improvement in employees’ compensation
Rollout of Direct Food Assistance: resulting from the generous support of individuals and organizations enabling NFAA to provide food assistance to some vulnerable groups across Montserrado County, bringing relief to those in need.
Collaboration in National Development Planning: active engagement with the Agriculture Sector during the planning processes of the National Development Agenda, ensuring the inclusion of the agency’s Home-Grown Feeding Program which remains a vital initiative aimed at supporting local farmers while addressing food insecurity.
While trumpeting the achievements as monumental in the rebranding and repositioning drive of NFAA, DG Sirleaf highlighted what he described as “ambitious programs” earmarked for the coming years of operations. Among the programs he mentioned the Home-Grown Prison Feeding, intended to provide locally sourced meals to inmates and prison populations; Home-Grown School Feeding Program, to ensure students across the country receive nutritious meals to support educational outcomes relating to enrolment, retention and overall intellectual improvement, and Creation of Regional Food Banks/Hubs, whereby excess Food from Local Farmers will be purchased to enhance the food assistance activities countrywide.
Meanwhile, the Director General proffered a number of recommendations for the success of the feeding programs, stressing the need for the passage of the agency’s Act to grant it a permanent status as an autonomous Agency of Government, funding needs for the development of a Five-Year Strategic Plan (2025-2029), capacity strengthening of staff, the need to make available relevant Logistics (Vehicles, Motorbikes, etc), internet connectivity and settlement of outstanding debt incurred in the last six months.
The updates and periodic report from DG Sirleaf then formed the basis of the thirty-minute discussions that ensued under the gavel of the board chairman and Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah. Stay tuned for more tidings on the outcome of the discussions in our next release.
