King of Kakata

"I joined BRAC in June 2009,” says King Kerkulah, a native Liberian supervisor with BRAC’s Agriculture program in Kakata, Liberia. “I used to be at Bong County’s Ministry of Agriculture. I got to know BRAC as they came to Liberia to assess areas where they could start agriculture programs. Then I resigned to join BRAC.” He was drawn to the opportunity with BRAC to advance agriculture in Liberia.

As of this spring, King manages 10 extension workers (each of whom visit 10 farms a day) and monitors three demonstration plots. Currently there are eight acres of plots dedicated to new varieties of rice and cabbage. So far, he has trained nearly 400 farmers, each with farm sizes anywhere between 2 to 50 acres. “I help solve farmers’ problems. I educate them on many things, like application of fertilizer, line sowing of seeds, new seed varieties, and others.”

When asked about his training in agriculture, “I have a diploma from Liberia’s Booker T. Washington Institute. I got my agriculture training at school, and also from BRAC from being on the job.”

King covers the entire area within a 4 km radius of BRAC Liberia’s Kakata office. He visits the farms that fall within his area of coverage on his bicycle. “Kakata is a hilly area, so travelling to farms on bicycle is difficult. Often I travel 8km on damaged or unpaved roads.”

At first, earning the trust of the farmers has not been easy. “One time, I visited a farm for the first time. The farmer was not present, so I introduced myself to his family members who were there. When the farmer later reappeared, he was angry at seeing a stranger (me) talking to his family. He was yelling at me, and I deeply apologized to him by touching his feet (the local custom). I then explained to the farmer about BRAC and that my job is to help farmers like him. Later we went to the fields to talk more. Now this farmer is very happy with BRAC. I taught him about new varieties of rice, and he is now planting it.”

Now all farmers know about King at BRAC Kakata. “I have become popular with farmers in the area,” he says