allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: All About Agricultural Improvement (Page 1 of 1)

After more than 40 years of independence, the practice of agriculture in Sierra Leone is still on a small-scale and primitive level thus resulting in its contribution of just a tiny percentage to national income.

Farmers operate on small plots of land knowing fully well that it is their only hope of sustaining their families. In fact, a vast majority of the farmers are extremely poor.

The major part of Sierra Leone agriculture is in the hands of family economies with few weak links to markets and very little access to external inputs.

But without a developed agricultural practice, Sierra Leone would never launch a viable industrial sector because it requires modern agriculture to achieve a reliable and sustainable food industries with the production of raw materials.

Like the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Joseph Sam Sesay rightly said at the just concluded Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI) strategic planning workshop which was held at the Kimbima Hotel, Sierra Leonean farmers need to pay attention to irrigation because of the various potentials it can boast of.

It is on record that Sierra Leone has nine rivers that never dries and are fairly distributed e.g Tumabum, Gbondapin. "By looking at irrigation alone, it will enable more intensive agriculture because it is environmental friendly. Irrigation should be looked into to make our farmers be more productive," Sesay who had worked with the UN in Liberia before being called upon by the president to be agriculture minister said at the workshop.

However, key factors have contributed to the development of agriculture in Sierra Leone. The recent visit of President Ernest Bai Koroma and his team to Libya is a step in the right direction but how they will utilize the gifts from the Libyan President, Muhammer Gaddafi is another matter of discussion.

According to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Zainab Hawa Bangura, the other policy of President Koroma is agriculture. She even noted that in some years to come, Sierra Leone would start exporting rice.

With such plan in the pipeline by the government, there is the need to urgently return to the drawing board and let agriculture take its place in increasing rice production thus reducing poverty.

I believe the government can achieve success in the exportation of rice by adopting some salient measures such as allocating a fair share of the recurrent and development budget (at least not less than 30% of the total budget) to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Secondly, there is the need to invest in water for production. The country's agricultural landscape should not be dependent on rainy seasons especially in the provincial area of the country. Our agriculture should be able to withstand the shock of dry spells and drought. Thirdly, the investment in market development and promotion is needed and also to encourage farmers to use improved tools in order to realize an increase in food production.

I've always asked myself: What role can agriculture play in taking Sierra Leone from an underdeveloped stage to a higher level?

Agriculture, I used to believe since school days, is the main pillar of rural people and the decisive force behind economic development. We cannot improve and industrialize without development in the agricultural sector.

Sierra Leone needs a developed agriculture that would sustain people in the country and in surplus. In this plight, there is need to step up agricultural production and productivity.

Government's effort at promoting agriculture must start with young farmers' projects in pilot areas as these would create a strong agricultural bank for Sierra Leone. However, the number of young Sierra Leoneans that would be willing to live in the rural areas is a matter of consideration.

Our greatest challenge is to achieve growth that benefits the poor - proper economic growth - especially the farmers in villages. We must concentrate on few critical issues such as the investment of human resources by ensuring access to education, healthcare, sanitation, good nutrition, clean water and child nutrition.

Also, we must improve access to productive resources and good employment.

To be more productive, farmers and many rural people need access to credit and savings institutions, improved seed stocks and secured access to land.

We must also welcome the setting up of an agricultural bank that would improve market infrastructure.

Another way of developing our agricultural sector is ensuring the proper construction of good roads in the rural areas which will give easy access to the transportation of farm products from rural areas to the urban.

We also need to engage in appropriate research, knowledge and technology as another step to boost agriculture in the country.

However, these benefits will materialize only if policies are in place to guide technological developments to solve agricultural and rural problems.

Finally, we must improve our natural resources management. We cannot go on exploiting our forests and timber resources as if there is no tomorrow and good governance.

Enough of Sierra Leone's comparative advantage to produce self-sufficient rice and even for export - which makes our rice to be going Guinea and our palm oil going to Liberia.

In the end, government should endeavour to remove constraints on marketing farm products as SLARI boss, Dr. Spencer said during the workshop.

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