1.1. Project Summary
For generations past, Liberian farmers have been accustomed to the slash and burn method of cultivation. Over the past 20 years, for example, Liberia?s Forestry Development Authority together with its international partners has consistently reported a gradual or massive destruction of Liberia?s forests due to logging on the one hand but also largely due to farming practices in which farmers clear forest lands, cut and burn trees to clear the ground for farming. The average Liberian farmer cultivates between one to three hectares of arable upland annually. With 70% of Liberia?s population of nearly 4 million people depending on agriculture for substance ? a bulk of them are upland growers ? this type of farming is now a disastrous contributor to climate change. As forest lands around cities and towns are cut down and burned, farmers are moving to greener areas, destroying flora and fauna species without respite, thus changing climate patterns uncontrollably. For example, on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, heavy rainstorm slammed through Voinjama, Lofa destroying or de-roofing 320 houses. Experts attributed the usual storm to the lack of trees around Voinjama town that would serve as storm breakers.

Hence, this project seeks to encourage farmers to leave the slash and burn upland farming and turn to lowland farming approach that uses improved rice varieties that would grow within about 100 days, produces higher yields, is nutritious and leads to increased income generation and food security. The approach incrementally promotes forest preservation and reduces farmers? vulnerability to the effects of climate change.

1.2. Organizational Background and Capacity to Implement the Project:
The SDCEP is a child, youth, and women?s development organization established in 1993 in memory of Sean Devereux who worked in Liberia as a Don Bosco and UN volunteer and was killed in Somalia while on a Unicef mission. SDCEP is duly registered and accredited by the Government of Liberia. SDCEP has the technical expertise, qualified staff, comparative advantage, and a thorough knowledge of the geography and people of the target area.

Since its founding, the SDCEP has provided critical assistance for needy children, youth, and women in the areas of agriculture, academic and vocational education, youth awareness-raising, capacity building, and adult literacy. Our agriculture component covers ten acres including vegetable, lowland rice, and tubers. Tailoring, arts and craft, and pastry form part of the vocational education. The total beneficiary caseload of the SDCEP is more than 1,000 beneficiaries including single mothers, teenage mothers, war affected, and farmers in rural Montserrado and Bomi Counties.

Over the years, we participated in community development initiatives to enable youth and women engage in income generation activities and appreciate voluntarism and patriotism, assist them become agents of change, and responsible members of society believing in democracy and the rule of law. Our parent organization is the Sean Devereux Children Fund in England (www.seandevereux.org.uk). Other partners in Liberia include Liberia Education Trust (LET), Liberia Agency Community Empowerment (LACE), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, and Salesians of Don Bosco.

SDCEP has a corps of qualified and committed staff including social workers, academic teachers, skills training instructors, accountants, agriculture extension workers, secretaries, and volunteers.

Mr. Sean Devereux in whose memory SDCEP was founded worked in Liberia prior to the 1990 civil war as a Volunteer of the Salesains of Don Bosco. He worked for poor rural children and women assisting them with scholarships, medical, and empowering women in vocational and adult literacy. He later worked for WFP and in 1993 was killed in Somalia while on a Unicef mission. He was described as ?Soldier of Peace? who gave his life serving others.

1.3 Project Rationale, Justification, Objectives and Expected Results: In an effort to assist farmers grow more nutritious food, save the forest, and contribute to the mitigation of climate change effects on farmers and the population, this project will support farmers in changing from upland farming to lowland crop cultivation. Farmers will be supported in experiencing the value-added advantage of farming in lowland ecologies and planting improved, short cycled rice varieties that take up to about 100 days to harvest, from the day of transplanting. Farmers will be trained in new approaches and improved lowland farming methodologies that allow them to cultivate crops on the same lowland site two or three times a year and get high and better quality yields than the upland. This method is also less-labor intensive, cheaper, and affordable. Bounds, dykes, canals and other simple structures will be put in place to ensure steady supply of water for the endeavor.

The project seeks to support three household farming families in cultivating 1.5 acres per head (each family) for two production cycles over a 12 month period. With its expertise and comparative advantage in lowland ecology agriculture, SDCEP will introduce to farmers simple and innovative approaches that create synergies, reduce manual labor overtime and increase production. New crop varieties like NERICA L19 will be introduced thus contributing immensely to food security and appreciable level of poverty reduction.

1.4 Description of Project Activities:
Introducing new methods to a group of people who are used to old ways of life is no easy task. However, with innovation, training, and clear-cut examples, SDCEP will adopt positive engagement of the people with their full participation in decision making ? a key ingredient for rural development initiatives. Once in the communities, SDCEP will carry on the following activities:
i. Identification of beneficiaries and sites (mobilization)
ii. Recruitment of beneficiaries and selection of sites (with workable sources of water)
iii. Procurement of inputs
iv. Testing of seed rice varieties (NERICA L19)
v. Awareness-raising among beneficiaries on advantages of farming in lowland ecologies
vi. Inception workshop to launch the project and roll out activities and clear roadmap (involving MOA and other stakeholders)
vii. Communication and visibility (Note: Communication and visibility is a cross-cutting activity for many of the project activities. This will be done to highlight donor?s support, beneficiaries? participation, and IP?s role)
viii. Prepositioning of inputs
ix. Training of beneficiaries in innovative and improved methods of farming
x. Preparation beds and growing of rice seedlings
xi. Building of bonds/dykes/canals
xii. Transplanting of seedlings
xiii. Farm management (care, wedding, compost application, water control)
xiv. Harvest
xv. Replanting for next cycle