Sierra Leone has a huge agricultural potential with its 5.4 million of hectares suitable for cultivation; however, only less than 10% are cultivated. Rice is the staple food in the country and its production occupies 52% of cultivated land. Like in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, rice is produced predominantly by smallholder farmers who cultivate a rice field in average of 0.94 ha.
The country is not yet self-sufficient and has imported 400,000MT in 2018 alone. In 2007, the previous government set 2013 the year of rice self-sufficiency where the rice production yield would reach 2 tons/ha; unfortunately, the goal wasn’t met. The current government estimates the cost of food import to $700 million, including rice. Is it feasible to increase rice production in Sierra Leone?
From to 2014 to 2018, Sierra Leone produced an average of 1,108,668 Mt of rice. Since 2007, the area cultivated has increased more than 35%, but the production yield has only increased from 0.97 tons/ha to 1.23 tons/ha, roughly 27%. In other words, the increase of the quantity of rice produced can’t be explained by the increase of the yield of production alone, but by both production yield and the increase of the area cultivated.
The country has a huge potential to be self-sufficient in rice, but a major agricultural transformation should be conducted. Boosting production from smallholder farmers and their access to the market are the main strategies. That requires a major and a pragmatic government policy change. What I meant by major change? Boosting agricultural production and farmers’ access to market is frequent phrases used in agricultural projects. However, the policy change has two targets, the government officials and the farmers. Any failed policies should be changed, which include agricultural input policy, fertilizer and seeds. The government supplying agricultural inputs has failed for many years and should be abandoned. It doesn’t mean the government has to abandon its support to smallholder farmers, but it has to create a new model and pragmatic input supply adapted to local context.
The interest of the farmers has to come first, and the importation of rice has to be taken as a temporary and transitional solution. The policy implemented should be drastically monitored to prevent corruption and failure. Farmers’ supports should include training in rice farming techniques, such as the system of rice intensification (SRI), and creating incentives to rice production, for instance conducting a rice production contest. Moreover, the government also has to increase the investment in agricultural infrastructure -- including irrigation, feeder roads, and storages. Without acting objectively by increasing the production yield, the ambitious goal to reach an additional 900,000 MT of rice by 2023 remains a dream. I believe producing a 2 tons/ha or doubling the production is feasible within a 5-year timeframe.
