The_Open_Door_deel1

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the agreement signed five years earlier with BFG consisted of the
introduction of the principle that LAC's output could be freely
exported only after Liberia's domestic needs had first been met.
Significantly, the Liberian Government never seized the
opportunity which this clause provided and never enforced its
application.
In 1960 LAC started with the clearing of land in its Grand Bassa
County concession area for the development of a rubber plantation
which according to the initial plans would comprise 100,000 acres
by 1975. The concession area situated in the eastern part of the
country aroused the concession owners' enthousiasm because of its
encouraging prospects for oil palm, cocoa, and sugar cane
plantations as well as for the exploitation of the rich tropical
rainforests. Just as the other major investors in agricultural
ventures in Liberia (Firestone and Goodrich in rubber
plantations, The Liberia Company in the cultivation of cocoa and
coffee, and the African Fruit Company in banana plantations) the
LAC decision makers were highly optimistic about the success of
their investments In Liberia as was reflected in the total size
of the concession area sought and obtained, the far-reaching
goals set, and the ambitious projects started. Two of the major
mistakes nearly all these concessionaires made whilst developing
their investment plans and signing the concession contracts were
that they overrated the country's labour potential, and
underestimated the problems resulting from being engaged in an
extremely underdeveloped country where human constraints, natural
environment, and the lack of infrastructure placed obstacles
which were difficult to overcome. This explains the disappearance
of investors such as LeTourneau of Liberia and Juan Jesus Ramos
Associates, the pulling out of the original concessionaires and
the subsequent selling of the concessions in two cases (the
African Fruit Company and, as we shall see, the Liberian
Agricultural Company), also the adjustment to more realistic
ventures in two other instances (Firestone and B.F.Goodrich), and
the change in crops, on a very modest scale in the case of The
Liberia Company, and on a larger scale by the African Fruit
Company. LAC started with its operations in its concession area
in Grand Bassa County. There were several reasons which motivated
this choice. First, the announcement of plans to construct a
railroad connecting the Nimba Mountains with Buchanan, where a
major port was to be built. Both railroad and port would be close
to LAC's concession area, thus facilitating its accessibility as
well as the exportation of the plantation's output. Secondly,
favourable geo-physical conditions such as not too heavy
rainforest which made penetration more easy, and a relatively
flat countryside which was more adapted to the operations
inherent to a rubber plantation. Thirdly, the relatively densely
populated area was attractive, considering the company's need for
a large number of labourers. Fourthly, the absence of other major
concessionaires in the area (19).
As mentioned before, no attempt was ever made by LAC to utilize