Investors Invade Sinoe Palm Plantation

SHAMPAY CAMP, Sinoe County - In June, armed police officers ordered Felecia Wesseh and other villagers to leave an abandoned palm plantation. A company called the Liberia Natural Produce Incorporated (LNPI) told the residents they were taking over a portion of the 8,000-hectare plantation from Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO), which had run it in 2019. Wesseh and other residents exploited the plantation and transformed the region into an artisanal palm oil hub ever since.
“I feel bad because number one, for me, this is my 25 years in this area. “The way the Emergency Response Unit [of the Liberia National Police] is coming here to take people from this place is not good,” said Wesseh, a mother in her late 30s. The DayLight interviewed her at her shop in Sankwehn Estate in Tarsue Chiefdom, Sanquin District locals have called Shampay Camp since the 1960s. A crowd of angry residents quickly gathered, questioning the legality of the takeover.
“By right, if you own the plantation or buy the area, I expect the Superintendent… to come with one of the lawmakers to show the people to us. Nobody brought them to show them to us,” Wesseh added.
Wesseh was right. There is evidence that LNPI bought the plantation from EPO. However, no one in the Sanquin District is aware of the takeover, and it has not been approved by the Liberian government.