LAC - Liberia LAC Corporate Pres.pdf · activities. Besides, heavy duty equipment (Yellow Machines)...

LAC - LiberiaSocfin Group

2018 LAC - Corporate Presentation 2

LAC OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

RESPONSE TO CONCERNS RAISED BY CONCESSION

AFFECTED COMMUNITIES

1. Historical highlight

2. Employment & Training/Internship Program

3. Social commitments

a) Health services

b) Education & Scholarship

c) Smallholders / Out growers

d) Roads & Bridges

e) Sanitation

4. Environment & Safety


1. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHT

✓ The Liberian Agricultural Company (LAC) is located in District #3, Grand Bassa County. The

concession areas cover land lying between the St. John River and the Cestos River South of

Compound #3, and it has a total acreage not exceeding three hundred thousand acres

(300,000) or one hundred twenty-one thousand five hundred hectares (121, 500);

✓ The Liberian Agricultural Company was established by Uniroyal in 1959 and it has a ratified

Concession Agreement ceded to her by the Government of Liberia up to 2029;

✓ Bought by Socfin Group of Companies in 1999 after the first civil crisis with planted areas of

10, 000 hectare. See appendix 1

✓ The company is mainly involved in the Rubber Cultivation, Harvesting and Processing of

natural rubber into crump rubber for export.

✓ The company currently has a developed area of 13,964 hectares including both mature and

immature areas. (See appendix 4 – 6)


2. EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING/INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

✓ The Company has a standard procedure for recruitment of personnel for permanent and

contract employees and is being implemented by the Human Resource & Administration

Department;

✓ LAC has a total workforce of about 2300 permanent employees as at August 2018. Apart

from the permanent employees we engage seasonal workers, as required, from time to

time Most of the workers hail from surrounding villages and counties such as Grand

Bassa, Bong, Margibi and Nimba. In 2016 LAC employed over 700 casual workers as

permanent employees in accordance with the Decent Work Act;

✓ LAC has in its employ some of the finest sons of Grand Bassa County that hold key

positions within the company as Senior Staff employees in various Departments.

Besides, LAC offers equal employment opportunities to both skilled and unskilled

Liberians.


a) Provision of Service Contracts:

✓ LAC provides construction and service contracts to locals as and when required but on the

basis of the Contractors meeting the prescribed requirements of the Ministry of Labour;

submission of business registration documents, etc. Currently, LAC has over 20 Service

Contractor Heads that are providing jobs to a large number of locals; (See Appendix 7)

✓ LAC also provides contracts to Locals who are engaged in the supply of Sand, Crushed

Rocks, Timber, Transportation, etc.;


b) Internship & practical training in preparation of young people into

the labour market:

✓ In order to prepare young people for the job market on a yearly basis, the Company accepts

students from vocational institutions to offer them practical training in various disciplines

on a four to six month internship basis. These vocational institutions include but not

limited to the Booker Washington Institute (BWI), Monrovia Vocational Training Center

(MVTC), William V. S. Tubman University, Grand Bassa Community College (GBCC), Liberia

Industrialization Center (LOIC), and other Medical Institutions such as Smythe Institute,

TNIMA, Phebe Nursing School, Mother Pattern Nursing School, etc. LAC provides

accommodation, feeding and monthly allowances for these interns ; Similarly, vacation jobs

are provided to students of the LAC School System, Wee Statutory District University

Student Association (WEDUSA) and students from Grand Bassa and other Counties. LAC

provides over one hundred fifty (150) vacation jobs annually to students;

✓ Training of midwives from surrounding communities at Lac hospital.


III. SOCIAL COMMITMENTS

Besides catering to employees and their dependants, the Company has other social engagement

with surrounding communities and villages as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As a

matter of giving back to the local communities, the Company renders the following services:

a) HEALTH SERVICES

✓ The Company’s hospital offers medical services to persons in the surrounding towns and

villages at an affordable fee;

✓ There is also a 24 hour Ambulance service for individuals who are ill and needed to be taken

to the Hospital; See Appendix 9 – 10;

✓ Provision of free medical services for company’s contractors

LAC MAIN HOSPITAL COMPLEX✓ The Company also

provides free medication

and hospitalization to

the William & Garblah

Orphanage located

South of the Plantation


✓ Provision of Schooling for contractors and local communities dependants/children at the

LAC School System for a nominal fee; (See Appendix 11 & 12)

✓ LAC proves its School facilities free of charge to the Administration of LAC School System to

run adult literacy program for workers and residents of surrounding communities. However,

this program is independently being run by teachers of LAC School System;

✓ LAC also provides scholarships annually to students who complete the William & Garblah

Orphanage Elementary School. These students are enrolled in the LAC School System until

the completion of Grade 12. Assistance in terms of part payment of teachers’ salary, food

material like rice, fish, meat etc. is provided on a monthly basis to the orphanage;

✓ Similarly, scholarships are also awarded to students who complete the Zondo Elementary &

Junior High School to enroll in the LAC School System from Grade 10 until the completion of

Grade 12;

✓ The Scholarship program instituted by Management since 2005 for employees’ children to

attend local universities or Tertiary Institutions upon their graduation from the school

system is on-going. Several graduates of LAC School System have benefited from this

scholarship program and some are currently in the employ of LAC.

b) EDUCATION & SCHOLARSHIP:

2018 9

c) SMALLHOLDERS / SMALL OUT GROWERS

✓ The Local Rubber Purchase Department ensures good purchase practices for small growers of

rubber. The wet rubber purchase price is updated every month, in line with the national price.

The department caters to the technical needs of small growers by way of Small Growers

Technical Assistance (STA) team;

✓ Provision of farming materials to smallholders / out grower at an affordable price or supply

these materials through our local agents; See Appendix 4

d) MAINTENANCE OF ROADS & CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES

✓ Maintenance of local farm to market roads and bridges as seen below in the below pictorials

(See figures 1, 2, 3 and 4);


Figure 2 - COMPLETED ROAD

Figure 1 - Desoe & Slue Towns Junction (road and bridge under

construction). LAC’s Representative with local community members


✓ Opening of street roads in

Compound #3 as seen in the

below figure

Figure 3 - OPENING & WIDENING OF ROAD LEADING FROM

GBANEE TOWN BRIDGE TO THE MAIN ROAD IN COMPOUND

#3

✓ The regular maintenance of the

48 km road from the LAC

Junction to Buchanan City;

Figure 4 - CULVERT BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION ON BUCHANAN

- LAC HIGHWAY


Figure 5 - Rehabilitation road of the Buchanan Compound

#3 Highway

Figure 6 - The Road Maintenance Department Constructing

one of the 19 bridges at Gbogar Town on the 86 km road

from St. John River to Zanzay. This project will benefit

local rubber farmers that were totally isolated.


e) SANITATION

✓ The Company also works in partnership with newly created Wayzohn City Corporation of

Wee Statutory District, Compound #3 in the provision of materials and working tools such as

wheel barrows, shovels, rakes, garbage bins, safety gears, etc. for the city sanitation

activities. Besides, heavy duty equipment (Yellow Machines) are provided when requested

for the maintenance of road within the city limits;( See figure 7 below)

✓ The Company also renders assistance in the hand dug wells and latrines, land clearing for

new construction of schools, construction of town hall projects, school and markets,

rehabilitation of damaged market buildings, etc. (See figures 8 & 9 below)


Figure 8 - LARCEE TOWN HAND PUMP

(installed Aug. 218Figure 9 - TOKO TOWN PUMP (installed

Aug. 2018)

Figure 7 - CLEARING GARBAGE SITE IN COMPOUND #3


✓ LAC works to reduce the impacts of our activities on our surrounding environment by

actively controlling and reducing effluents, emissions and waste. LAC is in compliance

with the National Environmental and Social Laws of Liberia;

✓ LAC has 3 HSE officers who coordinate all environmental activities; (See appendix 16)

✓ LAC has a Mini-Hydro-Electric Power Plant thus limiting the use of fuel for its

generators and hence reducing the pollution of air; (See figure 11 & Appendix 15)

✓ A biomass project was commissioned in 2014 to replace fossil fuel at the rubber factory.

This project was predicated upon to prevent the emission of fossil fuel into the air; See

appendix 13 & 14)

✓ Waste water from our rubber factory processing plant is treated in an open pond

systems at our effluent discharged point. Regular laboratory testing of the treated

effluent from the rubber factory reports values such as the pH, Biological Oxygen

Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), etc.; (See diagram & figure12 below)

✓ LAC also conducts pH test of the Nyahn River on a periodic basis to ensure that it is safe

for surrounding communities.

IV. ENVIRONMENT & SAFETY


Figure 10 - A MINI-HYDRO POWER PLANT


Figure 12 - WASTE WATER POND/LAGOON

APPENDIX 1: Historical background

LAC 19

✓ 1959: granted by the Government, then bought by Uniroyal

(concession)

✓ Civil war: LAC was Rebel’s HQ

✓ 1998: acquired by Socfin Group

• 10 000 ha planted

• The situation was:

o Most infrastructures had to be rebuilt

o No planting in the 90’s

o 60’s plantings covered more than 50% of the planted area

o Trees older than economic life of 32 years

o Very low production potential (bad regenerated bark)

o 1998 to 2017: investment of USD 75 million (USD 31.2 million

for extension and replanting)

o 2009: ISO 9001 certification obtained for Rubber factory

o 2014-2016: building of an hydropower plant

o 2017: commissioning of the hydropower plant


APPENDIX 2: Concession

LAC - Corporate Presentation 20

LAC (2017)

Situation Grand Bassa & River Cess Counties

Concession 1959 - 121 407 ha

Rubber plantation 13 192 ha = 10 208 ha mature2 984 ha of immature and

fallow/prepared land

HR & facilities

2300 permanent

employees

80 Workers

villages

1 hospital & 4 health

outposts (70 beds)

21 schools spread on 11

different locations

2018

LAC 212018 LAC - Corporate Presentation 21

APPENDIX 3:

APPENDIX 4: Key Figures (2017)


✓ Rubber out growers

• 1 075 smallholders

• 48 083 stumps/polybags supplied

✓ Factory

• Rubber processing unit: 2.5 T/h

• Industrial plantation production: 14 391 tons – yield: 1.41 T/ha

• Rubber purchased: 5 705 tons of dry rubber

• Processing: 18 793 tons

✓ Turnover (K€): 26 354

✓ Net result (K€): 848

2018

APPENDIX 5: Rubber activity


Factory production 2017 2016 2015

Production (t of dry rubber) 18 793 17 344 15 409

✓ Production capacity 4 T/h, plan to increase

to 5 T/h

✓ EPA certified

✓ Factory is ISO 9001 certified (the 1st factory

in the country)

• Upgraded to ISO 9001:2015 on the

30/03/2018

• Marketing – main destinations: Brazil, USA,

Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France,

The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore,

Malaysia, Belgium and China

2018

APPENDIX 6: Rubber activity

24

2017 2016 2015

Ha in production 10 208 10 006 10 048

Production (T of dry rubber) 14 391 14 052 14 487

Yield (kg of dry rubber/ha) 1 410 1 404 1 441

Productivity (kg of dry rubber/md

tappers)39 37 35

Local purchase (t of dry rubber) 5 705 2 119 3 265

✓ Replanting program is about 650 ha per year.

• “2018: 800 ha planned”

• 2017: 650 ha

• 2016: 12 ha (only a trial)

• 2015: 240 ha (due to financial constraint)

• 2014: 650 ha

• 2013: 488 ha

• 2012: 662 ha

• 2011: 650 ha

2018 LAC - Corporate Presentation

APPENDIX 7: Linkages with Liberian contractors

✓ Support a network of local companies and entrepreneurs in various

fields:

• Construction contractors

• Supply of local materials like fuel, gasoline, rice, lubricants, tires,

sand, crushed rocks, building materials, tapping implements, spare

parts & equipment, transport…

• Maintenance contractors

• General services contractors

• Purchase of raw rubber from local farmers and other farmers from

Bong and Nimba counties


APPENDIX 8: Research and Development

✓ Research nursery new planting material, root trainers,

young budding

✓ Tapping technique improvements:

• Frequency tapping trial

• Rain protection trial

• Clonal selections project


APPENDIX 9: Health

✓ Free access for employees and dependents

✓ Medical services

• 1 central hospital of 70 beds

o 4 health outposts

o 3 ambulances

• Consultations Lac Hospital - OPD Section

o 49 450 in 2017, (37 260 in 2016 & 32 382 in 2015)

• Eye Camp, training of midwives in and out of the plantation

✓ Recent investments

• Extension of the family planning & HIV unit

• Pathology analyzer, X-ray machine

• Construction of a new OutPatient Department (OPD), an Ebola Isolation Unit, a new

Triage, an Emergency Room, …


28

X-Ray Machine Ambulance

Family Planning Unit Ebola Isolation Unit

APPENDIX 10: Social commitments


LAC 29

Key figures (2017)

Health 1 hospital & 4 health outposts 49 450 consultations 66 health staff

Education21 schools spread on 11

different locations86 teachers 6 044 students

Local development 5 tapping schools Certification ISO 9001:2015

APPENDIX 11: Responsible Management

✓Social: schooling and health services ➔ free for employees and dependants


APPENDIX 12: Education

✓ Free access for employees and dependents

✓ Best result for national exam (WAEC) for school year 2010/2011

• 100% pass in 2013/14 & 2016/17 (closed due to Ebola outbreak in 2014/15 ; 80% pass in

2015/16)

• Scholarship offered to students

✓ Registration of girls in the school system encouraged

✓ Adult education/ literacy

✓ Recent investments

• 1 new primary school for 240 students at Nain Camp & 2 new schools in Estate 3 and in

Estate 4

• 1 new library at St Joseph School

• 5 new buses for the students & construction of permanent bus stops

• 1 extension of St Francis School & renovation of 4 satellite schools

• Upgrading of Blessed Alamano school to junior high school

• Library, science lab and computer lab for the students


APPENDIX 13: Green Energy

✓ Bio-mass rubber dryer

• Use of rubber wood to generate steam for the dryer

• Capacity: 20 000 T rubber/year

• Investment: 1 400 000 €


LAC 32

Bio-mass. Uses rubber wood to generate steam for the dryer


APPENDIX 14:

✓ Hydro power plant

• Hydroelectricity to meet 70% of total demand

• Average water level difference up to the weir: 9.2 m

• Installed power: 1.25 MW

• Annual electric production: 4 300 MWh/year in hydropower

• Turbine A: Kaplan, 16 m³/s, Ø 1.55 m

• Turbine B: Kaplan, 6 m³/s, Ø 1.55 m

• Investment: 8 500 000 €


APPENDIX 15: Green Energy

2018

APPENDIX 16: Health, Safety & Environment

✓ Environment

• 1 HSE Superintendent & 2 HSE Officers

• ISO 9001 certification

• 22 Training sessions

o First certified factory in the country

o Upgraded to ISO 9001:2015 (30/03/2018)

• New incinerator installed and commissioned at the hospital

• EIA completed in 2013

LAC 342018 LAC - Corporate Presentation 34

APPENDIX 17: Summary of LAC Corporate Social Responsibility

✓ Treatment offered to local communities at LAC

hospital system

✓ Schooling for local communities registered at LAC

school system

✓ Purchase of raw rubber from local farmers, technical

advice programs and material assistance

✓ Assistance to Zondo and Gorblee schools (latrines,

hand pumps, furniture…), sporting equipment,

renovation of Wroahzohn elementary school

✓ Assistance to Town Hall construction in Compound 3,

land clearing for schools and markets

✓ 8 motorbikes, buckets, chlorine and PPEs donated

during Ebola crisis


✓ Maintenance of the roads outside the plantation

✓ Football fields, welfare activities

✓ Social and sporting events in and out of the plantation

✓ Rainwater harvesting

✓ Women’s market built on the plantation completed in

2014

✓ Youth & Women organizations formed in 6 camps

✓ 2 labour Welfare Officers appointed in 2014…

✓ 5 000 toys distributed to children during Christmas

every year

✓ Financial assistance given for social events

2018

APPENDIX 18: Challenges

✓ Depressed rubber market

since 2014

✓ Road to Buchanan

✓ Transport to port of Monrovia

✓ Land for extension within the Concession area not forthcoming

✓ Pressure on LAC school system and medical facilities (no assistance or

grant from GOL)

✓ Administrative slowness



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