By DN News Editorial Desk
Monrovia | April 13, 2026 — The Government of Liberia has submitted a $45 million Draft Supplementary Budget for FY2026. The numbers tell a story, and Liberians need to pay attention.
The Breakdown That Raises Eyebrows: National Security Agency (NSA): $1.0 million Agriculture Sector: $0.5 million That’s right. The NSA gets double what the entire Agriculture Sector receives in this supplementary budget.
But wait. Wasn’t agriculture supposed to be the backbone?
President Joseph Boakai’s ARREST Agenda and the National Development Plan both put agriculture front and center. The message has been clear: we must feed ourselves, create jobs through farming, and reduce our $200+ million annual food import bill. The Ministry of Agriculture itself has warned that Liberia imports nearly 70% of its rice.
Yet when extra money was found, the draft budget gives $1.0 million to the NSA and $500,000 to the Ministry of Agriculture.We must ask:
What is the government’s real priority?
The Accountability ProblemThe NSA can never be audited or publicly account for millions given to it each year. When questioned, the NSA says they operate on “covert” grounds. Every year, taxpayers’ money goes into a black hole with no report back to the people. Meanwhile, the farmer in Lofa who wants fertilizer must fill out forms, wait for audit, and beg for support.
If we cannot track the money, how do we know it’s protecting us?
Security Without Food Is EmptyNo one disputes that national security matters. But security without food security is no peace. It is like an AK-47 without bullets or a snake without a head dangerous looking, but powerless when it counts. A hungry man is an angry man, as the Liberian saying goes. You cannot secure a nation of empty bellies.
The entire Security and Rule of Law sector gets $5.1 million in this draft. We support professional security. But intelligence cannot replace rice.
The Agriculture RealityLiberia’s farmers face bad roads, no access to credit, fake seeds, and lack of storage. Our youth are leaving the farms for keke riding and gold mines because farming doesn’t pay. $500,000 cannot buy enough tractors, cannot fix feeder roads, and cannot support serious rice or cassava projects in all 15 counties.
If agriculture is truly “key” to development, the budget should show it. Right now, it shows something else.
Questions for the Legislature As the House and Senate scrutinize this draft budget, DN News urges them to ask: What exactly will the NSA’s $1.0 million do that could not wait for the regular budget? Why is agriculture, the sector that employs 70% of Liberians, getting half of what one security agency receives – an agency that cannot be audited?- How does this allocation align with the government’s own ARREST Agenda that promises “Agriculture” as the first pillar?
Our Position: you cannot preach “back to the soil” while putting more money into covert operations than seeds. The supplementary budget is a statement of what is urgent. If the government believes agriculture is key, then fund it like it’s key. Give our farmers more than crumbs while security gets the cake.
The Legislature should amend this draft. Balance the scales. Liberia cannot eat intelligence reports, and we cannot audit silence.
What do you think? Should an unaudited agency get more than agriculture? Send your views to DN News.
