Context

Liberia’s Rice Challenge

Liberia spends more than US $200 million every year importing rice to meet a national demand of about 650,000 tons, while producing only 240,000 tons locally.

This dependence weakens food security, drains foreign currency, and exposes the nation to global price changes. Nearly 47 percent of Liberians are food insecure, and rice makes up more than 20 percent of national food consumption.

Capital Reality

The Investment Gap

Current investments remain far below what is required to solve Liberia’s rice challenge.

  • Programs such as the US $350,000 FAO project and the €4 million EIB study are small relative to annual import spend.
  • The imbalance sustains dependency and constrains local value chain development for farmers, processors, and logistics providers.
Solution Design

EcoShade Rice: Transforming the Future

EcoShade Rice applies controlled environment agriculture through retractable greenhouses powered by renewable energy, precision irrigation, and advanced management systems to make production efficient, predictable, and sustainable.

  • Target Up to 34% less water use (pending pilot validation)
  • Target 98% renewable energy uptime (seasonal testing)
  • Designed for ISO 9001, 14001, 22000, 50001, 45001
  • Aligned to GLOBALG.A.P., HACCP, ISO 7301, IRRI quality benchmarks

Quantitative values are targets to be confirmed through pilot operations and independent review.

Our Direction

The Vision

EcoShade is building a model that moves Liberia from dependency to self-sufficiency. Each EcoShade Rice hub unites cultivation, processing, training, and renewable energy in one intelligent ecosystem.

  • Advance food sovereignty with year-round climate-adaptive production.
  • Enhance climate resilience via protected cultivation and efficient inputs.
  • Drive sustainable growth with local jobs, services, and data-guided decisions.

Disclosure: Metrics shown on this page are targets under validation. Final values will be published after the pilot in Bassa County.

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Excecutives

Karim Kofa
CEO and Founder

Portia Howard
Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer (CSTO)

Afreda Rambal
Chief Innovation Officer (CInO)

Dr. Sarwee Faeflen
Chief Operating Officer, West Africa (Coo, West Africa)