Three United Nations agencies comprising the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and United Nations Agency for Women Empowerment (UNWOMEN) (lead) are jointly implementing the project: “Sustaining Peace and Reconciliation through Strengthening Land Governance and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms” under the United Nations Peace Building Fund (PBF). The project seeks to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of key Government institutions and local infrastructures of peace to carry out improved land dispute resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, the project supports sustainable livelihoods of communities in minding communities as a foundation for peace and reconciliation. The project is being implemented in four (4) counties comprising (1) Grand Cape Mount (17 communities), (2) Sinoe (5 communities), (3) Maryland (5 communities), and (4) Nimba (16 communities) in a total of 43 communities.
Within this joint initiative, WFP has a role to help improve the socio-economic security, peacebuilding, and resilience of the affected populations, especially around concessions in the four counties. WFP’s activities are (1) contributing to peacebuilding efforts by using its resilience capacity to support the population affected by underlining issues such as land disputes, youth agitation, and unemployment. (2) To ensure that a community-based approach is put in place to safeguard the resolution of related conflict shocks and transform conflicts into sustainable peace relations.
To achieve the project goal, WFP has engaged its principal cooporating partner, the Volunteers for Sustainable Development in Africa (VOSIEDA) to realize the outcomes allocated to her under the joint project. VOSIEDA is working with several agencies of the government of Liberia, and community-based organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia, the National Bureau of Concession (NBC), the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Liberia Land Authority (LLA), Green Gold Liberia, etc.
Food Assistance for Assets
Under the ‘Sustaining Peace and Reconciliation through Strengthening Land Governance and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms’ project, VOSIEDA is implementing large-scale commercial rice and horticulture production in Nimba and Grand Cape Mount Counties while implementing cassava processing facilities in Maryland County. These initiatives will increase the cassava value chain, improve local rice, vegetables, and fruit production, and reduce reliance on imports.
To support these initiatives, VOSIEDA and the United Nations World Programme provide hundreds of tons of assorted food to food-insecure communities living in fragile and degraded landscapes in Nimba, Marylands, and Grand Cape Mount Counties. Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) aims to address the most food-insecure communities immediate food needs while improving their long-term food security and resilience through sustainable livelihood development.
The World Food Programme (WFP)’s Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) initiative addresses immediate food needs through cash, voucher or food transfers, while at the same time it promotes the building or rehabilitation of assets that will improve long-term food security and resilience.
FFA activities aim to create healthier natural environments, reduce the risks and impact of climate shocks, increase food productivity, and strengthen resilience to natural disasters over time.
