Liberia Agricultural Risk Profile

After about a decade of political instability, the economy of Liberia also recently faced threats from the Ebola epidemic which affected the agricultural market, production, and macro-level decisions. This methodological brief relies on the national averages to provide a high-level quantitative analysis of selected risks that affect Liberia’s agricultural sector. Specifically, it presents how the sector has grown between 1990 and 2013, the major agricultural products, and the various forms of risks at production, market, and macro levels.

The analyses reveal that output price risks driven by natural fluctuations in prices of major cash crops (rubber, coffee, and palm oil) are greater than production and macro-level risks. Production level risks mainly affect about 4% of yearly yields in maize, cocoa, and rice. While political stability is improving, it remains relatively slow.