Published: November 5, 2025
Malonkai Town, Bong County—A pickup transporting locally produced commodities from Malonkai Town to Tuankan Town in electoral District#1 sank over the weekend after a dilapidated bridge connecting the two towns collapsed.
The vehicle, which was conveying agricultural produce, sustained significant damage along with the goods, resulting in huge losses for smallholder farmers who had hoped to sell their surplus crops to support their families. The incident has drawn attention to the persistent challenges local farmers face in transporting their produce to nearby markets, where they already earn minimal profits due to high costs and poor infrastructure.
In Malonkai Town, agriculture serves as a lifeline for a large portion of the population. However, residents say deplorable roads and deteriorating bridges continue to cripple economic activities, trapping many farming families in poverty and hardship. Benjamin Gbankollie, a resident and one of the victims of the accident, said he is now torn between quitting agriculture or continuing to endure the mounting challenges of rural farming in Liberia. “We have and continue to struggle with taking our produce to the nearby market for sale due to ugly roads and bridges. We are tired of suffering,” he lamented.
Gbankollie decried the deplorable condition of the bridge, which he said had long shown signs of collapse. According to him, several appeals for government intervention have gone unanswered. He added that during the rainy season, vehicles rarely travel to the town, and when they do, transportation fares are often tripled, causing farmers to lose even more. Several other farmers in the region echoed similar concerns. While expressing willingness to support government’s efforts to tackle food insecurity, they urged authorities to rehabilitate farm-to-market roads and provide greater support to smallholder farmers.
We heard that the president wants us to grow what we eat, but we continue to cry for support — no way,” said farmer Sarah Sumo in Kpelle.
In 2025, Liberia continues to grapple with food insecurity, ranking 112th out of 123 countries in the Global Hunger Index with a score of 30.0. Agriculture remains a central pillar of President Joseph Boakai’s ARREST Agenda, which promises to make Liberia food self-sufficient, especially in rice production, and transition the nation from import dependency to commercial, mechanized farming. However, experts warn that Liberia’s food crisis will continue to worsen if the government fails to rehabilitate feeder roads and provide the necessary technical and material support to smallholder farmers.
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