Published: January 16, 2026
MONROVIA — The European Union–funded Cassava Transformation Programme, known as CASTRAP, officially closed Thursday after four years of work to strengthen Liberia’s cassava value chain, with partners pointing to major gains in production, entrepreneurship and community livelihoods — and insisting the project’s impact will outlive its funding cycle.
The closeout ceremony, held Thursday, Jan. 15, in Monrovia, brought together smallholder farmers, project beneficiaries, government officials and international partners. EU representatives said the conclusion of CASTRAP does not signal a retreat from cassava development, but rather cements a legacy of investment in one of Liberia’s most important staple crops.
‘Not the End, But a Beginning’
Speaking on behalf of EU Ambassador to Liberia Nona Deprez, Maria Winnubst, program officer on the EU Green Team, said the project may have ended, but its outcomes will continue to shape lives and livelihoods.
“Today’s close out event will show what we achieved together,” Winnubst said. “Certainly, there were challenges, there was frustration along the way, but I am sure you will conclude together with me that CASTRAP made a difference.”
She challenged the long-held view of cassava as merely a subsistence crop, pointing to innovations introduced under the project.
“It made a difference to cassava — such a humble staple food,” she said. “Is it a mere staple food? Or is it more? CASTRAP and you showed it can be more … it is more, and we can witness this through the project’s achievements and through developments we see in Liberia.”
Winnubst highlighted emerging opportunities such as converting waste from gari production into animal feed, noting a rise in locally produced feed as a promising byproduct of cassava processing.
“We observe an increase in locally produced animal feed,” she said. “A new avenue to discover. There may be more to come.”
‘Liberian Spirit’ and Lasting Partnerships
She credited the project’s success to the resilience and creativity of beneficiaries, describing it as a product of close collaboration among communities, implementers and government institutions.
“The famous ‘Liberian spirit’ of determination and courage shone through your actions,” Winnubst said. “I am sure it will continue to shine through even outside of CASTRAP.”
While acknowledging that project closures are often bittersweet, she urged beneficiaries to take pride in what they have built.
“Some of you may think that it is sad that the project came to an end. Often it is sad,” she said. “But in this case, with CASTRAP, you can be proud of what you achieved collectively.”
She encouraged participants to rely on the strength gained through the project as they plan for the future.
“I urge you to draw on your own strength looking towards the future,” Winnubst said, quoting Abraham Lincoln: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Continued EU Support for Quality and Safety
Winnubst stressed that the EU continues to support cassava production through investments in quality seed and food safety, including collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the Central Agricultural Research Institute.
“Through our collaboration with IITA experts, we support CARI in producing improved quality cassava seedlings,” she said, urging beneficiaries to maintain those partnerships and access certified planting materials.
She also emphasized the importance of food safety and quality standards, particularly for cassava products entering the market.
“Together with government, we aim for you and your children to eat food that is safe and for the gari you produce to increase in value through a quality label,” she said. “The EU continues to stand alongside you. We have not forgotten you.”
‘Where Others Stepped Away, We Stepped Forward’
Leroy N. S. Kanmoh, country director of CERATH Development Organization, the project’s implementing partner, recalled the difficult conditions under which CASTRAP began in late 2020.
“I remember the silence — not the peaceful kind, but the silence of abandonment,” Kanmoh said. “The kind that comes when opportunities are announced, and one by one, institutions quietly step away.”
He said many organizations declined to implement the cassava component of the West Africa Competitiveness Programme in Liberia, citing poor roads, weak telecommunications and high operational costs in the southeast.
“I stepped forward because this is home,” Kanmoh said. “Because I could see clearly farmers who had waited too long. Mothers who worked in cassava fields without markets. Youth who knew how to farm but had no pathway to dignity.”
That decision, he said, gave rise to CASTRAP, implemented from April 16, 2021, to 2025, with the goal of boosting competitiveness, value addition and regional integration of Liberia’s cassava sector.
Results Beyond the Numbers
Kanmoh said the project worked across Sinoe, Grand Kru, Grand Gedeh, Maryland and River Gee counties, engaging 1,500 smallholder farmers, 10 cooperatives and 20 agribusinesses.
“Today, I stand proud to say that 10 farmer cooperatives are fully licensed, with 1,063 farmers organized, including 610 women, 408 youth and 14 persons with disabilities,” he said. “These are not numbers on paper.”
He said 577,631 improved cassava cuttings reached 985 farmers, while 1,746 farmers were trained in climate-smart agriculture through farmer field schools.
“Yield per hectare rose from 2.7 metric tons in 2021 to 15.66 metric tons today,” Kanmoh said. “That is not an improvement — that is transformation.”
Savings, Loans and Stronger Systems
Through 29 village savings and loan associations, Kanmoh said more than 1,100 people — mostly women — learned to save, invest and manage finances collectively.
By September 2025, he said, the groups had saved 49.5 million Liberian dollars, disbursed 52.4 million Liberian dollars in loans and recorded a 100% loan recovery rate.
“That is trust. That is discipline. That is power shifting to communities,” he said.
Kanmoh added that the project also contributed to policy reforms, including the National Agricultural and Rural Financing Framework, and supported the establishment of the Liberia Standards Authority.
“We played our part in processes that strengthened the systems governing trade and standards in this country,” he said, noting lessons learned on governance and accountability.
‘Dignity, Not Empty Promises’
As CASTRAP closes, Kanmoh said the most visible impact is not infrastructure or statistics, but people.
“When I return to these counties, I no longer see cassava as just a crop,” he said. “I see organized farmers. I see women running enterprises. I see youth who can stay rather than migrate. I see savings books, not empty promises. I see dignity.”
“CERATH did not ignore the odds because we were fearless,” he added. “We ignored them because communities mattered more.”
Government Applause, Call for Continuity
Representatives of the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning and Agriculture, along with officials of the Liberia Standards Authority’s National Standards Laboratory, praised the EU for the project’s achievements and called for sustained collaboration to strengthen agriculture and food security.
Implemented from 2021 to 2025, CASTRAP aimed to improve access to inputs and markets, enhance production and processing, promote commercialization and support policies that make the cassava value chain financially sustainable.
The project targeted Sinoe, Grand Kru, Maryland, River Gee and Grand Gedeh counties, with beneficiaries including smallholder farmers, cooperatives, cassava processors and national regulatory institutions.
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