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