By By Contributing Writer
The National Food Assistance Agency (NFAA) has drawn attention to a critical budgetary issue affecting Liberia’s school feeding program, while also outlining steady progress in food assistance delivery to vulnerable populations. The disclosure was made by Director General Boakai A. M. Sirleaf during a statement delivered at the Agency’s headquarters in Fiama, Sinkor, Monrovia.
Sirleaf said the NFAA has undergone a major institutional shift following its enactment into law on June 17, 2025, granting it autonomous status after decades of operating under executive orders. He explained that this legal transformation now places the Agency at the center of coordinating and regulating all food assistance initiatives across the country.
“This enactment provides the NFAA with the legal authority, institutional clarity, and national responsibility to ensure that food assistance to vulnerable populations is effective, coordinated, transparent, reliable, and credible,” he stated.
Since gaining autonomy, the Agency has expanded its humanitarian reach. Sirleaf disclosed that a USD50,000 emergency grant from the African Union, secured through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, enabled the NFAA to deliver food assistance in eight counties. The intervention supported 38 institutions, including orphanages, hospitals, prisons, disability centers, safe homes, and elderly care facilities.
“Overall, the intervention reached 4,440 beneficiaries, comprising 2,824 males and 1,616 females,” he said.
The Director General emphasized that the program deliberately relied on locally produced food items to strengthen domestic agriculture. Distributed supplies included more than 1,200 bags of 25kg rice—largely home-grown—along with vegetable oil and palm oil. Additional locally produced rice received from the Ministry of Agriculture was shared among vulnerable groups in Monrovia and surrounding communities.
“The food commodities distributed under this intervention included mostly home-grown rice, reinforcing our commitment to local agricultural production,” Sirleaf noted.
He also highlighted a new partnership between the NFAA and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, formalized through a Letter of Agreement. The collaboration will support the development of a five-year strategic plan aimed at improving institutional capacity and strengthening Liberia’s response to food insecurity.
“This milestone was achieved following months of consultative engagements with FAO,” he said.
However, the most pressing concern raised during the briefing was the placement of USD950,000 appropriated by the National Legislature for school feeding. Sirleaf clarified that the funds were mistakenly listed under the Ministry of Agriculture rather than the NFAA, contrary to the Agency’s legal mandate. He said discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to correct the error.
“We wish to respectfully remind the public and relevant institutions that the law mandates all food assistance programs to be coordinated by the NFAA,” he stressed.
Sirleaf concluded by thanking President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, the National Legislature, development partners, and private contributors for their support, while urging all institutions to channel food assistance through the NFAA.
“NFAA is on the frontline in the war against hunger,” he declared, calling for coordinated national efforts to ensure food aid reaches those most in need.
