The agriculture sector in Sierra Leone employs about two-thirds of the labor force and according to World Bank it contributes more than 50 percent of Sierra Leones; GDP, this sector including livestock’s and forestry. Sierra Leone is endowed with a favorable agricultural environment, comprising arable land and abundant rainfall a temperate climate and many rivers.
With significant irrigation potential that could support production of enough food to meet the local consumption and export. If different regimes over years are paying the due attention the agriculture sector deserves but from JS Momoh’s “Green Revolution”, Pa Kabab’s ‘Food Security’ to Bai Karma’s “tractorization” under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to the current Maada Bio’s current “Tractorization” under the private sector it has all been big promises and lies, big grammar and fan fair but nothing tangle to show, we are still spending billions of dollars to import foodstuffs. But that is a story for another day.
It is reported that 80 percent of our national foodstuff consumed in Sierra Leone are imported. Yet of the estimated 5.4 million hectares of arable land 75 percent remain uncultivated. The land is suitable for the cultivation of wide range of crops inclusive of rice, Sierra Leone’s staple food, cassava, ginger, vegetables, fruits, sugar cane, and cash crops like coffee cocoa and oil palm and the rearing of livestock.
The sector is dominated by smallholder subsistence farmers, utilizing outdated methods and limited farm inputs. It will interest you to know that the last soil research to give the accurate report on soil samples/soils types good for the cultivation of the different agricultural products across the country was done in 1977, since then Sierra Leone depends on that date for Farmers, clearly showing how our different regimes through our ministry of agriculture, Forestry and food security. And it agencies like the Research component and all other branches are “very serious” with our Agricultural sector.Women in Agriculture and Development-Sierra Leone (WIAD-SL) is a Non-Governmental Organization, registered with the relevant institutions and line ministries to carry out its operations across the country. WIAD-SL strive to empower women and youths through agricultural activities. WIAD-SL presently has 150 Farmer Based Organizations with 4500 women farmer’s members in Kailahun, Kenema, Kono, Bo, Bonthe, and Moyamba district respectively, who are actively involved in the cultivation of rice, cassava, groundnut, vegetables, ginger, to name but a few. WIAD-SL provides thiswomen farmers with much needed inputs like seeds, seedlings, basic agricultural tools like hoe, cutlasses and micro-finance. Training, advisory service, supervision and Food for work is also provided to help farmers through the production period as these were identified as most difficult challenges in getting involved in agriculture. WIAD-SL is very focused on the two main staple food in Sierra Leone-rice and cassava- thus it has provided a rice milling machine in Kenema district and cassava processing machine in Kailahun district. It product from both processing centers are breaded and package as “Nyanda”- (Nyanda Parboiled Rice and NyandaGarri.)
Over the years this women farmers across the country have been facing the challenges of sealing their farm products, it’s against that backdrop that WIAD-SL established both the Nyanda Enterprise and the Nyanda Local Market both registered and the later lunched and opened on the 27TH December,2022. The Nyanda Local Market is WIAD-SL dream of the direct Farm- to-consumer market, (a one stop market- “Nyanda local market”) at 35 Dundas Street, Freetown.
The vision of WIAD-SL is a hunger free society where women are empowered and actively participating in decision making that affects their lives.It primary objective is to transform lives by empowering community women for sustainable agricultural development, promote and advocate for community women and child rights with emphasis on education, food security and reproductive rights. More so,to improve Women farmer’s capacity through sustainable increases in agricultural production and productivity. As we enter a bright prosperous let Nyanda local market be the ideal place to get your local food stuff. Let us eat what we grow, Nyanda Local Market is truly yours!!
Saa Matthias D BENDU
