The Nigerian agroindustrial group JR Farms signed a 20-year concession contract with the Ministry of Agriculture of Liberia at the beginning of June, as part of a public-private partnership dedicated to the development of the coffee sector in the country. This agreement, valued at 60 million USD (approximately 51.7 million euros), provides for the development of more than 250,000 hectares of agricultural land.
According to the Liberian authorities, the project should initially focus on the main production areas such as Nimba, Lofa and Bong counties, with particular emphasis on youth employment, rural transformation and the integration of small producers. The partnership notably provides for the planting of at least 200 million coffee trees, the establishment of processing units, the training of thousands of farmers and the construction of key infrastructure for the sector, whether rural roads, collection centers or washing stations.
Ultimately, more than 300,000 direct and indirect jobs are announced along the value chain, which would make coffee one of the most dynamic agricultural sectors in the country.
A boost for a still embryonic sector
For the moment, the deployment schedule for the initiative has not been specified. But this project promises to be an opportunity for the country where coffee culture remains marginal today. Liberia only had around 2,800 hectares of coffee trees for an annual production of around 655 tonnes in 2024, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), making it an almost invisible player on a global scale.
With this project, which will be among the largest coffee programs ever undertaken in West Africa, the Liberian sector should receive a real boost in development. The country has its own species, Coffee liberica, characterized by particularly vigorous trees that can exceed 10 to 15 meters in height, as well as by cherries and beans significantly larger than those of arabica and robusta.
This singularity today puts this species back in the forefront. The FAO and the Liberian authorities have also selected the bean as a flagship product of Liberia’s strategy within the framework of the ” One Country One Priority Product » from the UN body. This system aims to help each country identify and promote an emblematic agricultural product, with strong commercial and development potential, in order to structure more competitive, more resilient and more sustainable value chains.
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West Africa in the crosshairs
JR Farms’ commitment to Liberia marks its second establishment in West Africa, after its project launched in Nigeria. In March 2025, the group announced a partnership with Cross River State, aiming to develop 30,000 hectares of coffee over a period of five years, thanks to the planting of 30 million plants and the creation of several washing and processing stations.
This project should reposition Cross River as a pillar of the Nigerian coffee revival, after decades of decline in the sector. In this context, JR Farms has increased initiatives including the distribution of improved seeds, training of dozens of extension agents through a “trainthetrainer” program, establishment of demonstration farms and development of partnership frameworks to connect producers to international markets.
More generally, the offensive in these two countries is likely to revitalize a West African sector which still remains largely behind on the world market.
According to data compiled by the FAO, it only represents around 14% of African coffee production, estimated at 1.9 million tonnes in 2024, far behind East Africa whose share exceeds 60%.
Countries like Ivory Coast, Guinea, Nigeria, Togo and Liberia have all experienced a decline or stagnation in their volumes in recent decades, often for the benefit of other crops deemed more profitable or better supported by public policies. In this context, the entry on the scene of private actors capable of mobilizing significant capital, structuring value chains and introducing higher quality standards can represent a major advantage provided that the projects deployed are supported by long-term public recovery policies.
