President Bio ( 2nd left), Minister of Agric, Dr. Kpaka,(left), and other officials on the farm, working to achieve food sovereignty

Sierra Leone, like other African countries, is largely import-oriented. But it is currently looking inward into food production, to attain self-sufficiency and food sovereignty

Abubakar Hashim /Sierra Leone

At an extra-ordinary emergency meeting on boosting agricultural productivity through private sector-driven strategy in Africa, organized last year by the Africa Development Bank AfDB in Dakar, Senegal, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone was among colleague African Presidents that were calling the shots and setting the pace and tone of the general meeting.

Each African President, 53 in all, made a presentation on prioritizing agriculture as a business, not a way of life, to boost agriculture productivity through private sector-led investment for inclusive growth, minimize dependency on food imports, reduce hunger, and increase export earnings by creating more jobs to build a resilient economy.

President Bio, displaying local fish production

At the gathering in Dakar, President Bio pulled the trigger by taking a slightly different position.  Though he spoke in a similar direction of boosting agriculture through a private sector-led investment approach, he was frank and direct at his colleague presidents gathered in Dakar.  “Let’s avoid making long speeches at this gathering but say out, loud and clear, our consciences and commitments to agriculture, to feed our people”, Bio reasoned.

He exuded personal political will and commitment at the Dakar meeting.  While his fellow Presidents were rolling out long speeches on policy directions to boost agricultural production, he demonstrated his passion as a “Chief Farmer” in Sierra Leone, who is practically the champion of the “Feed Salone” Project that is guided by a Presidential Council and executed by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

How the Feed Salone Project Works

About six years ago, in 2018, the Sierra Leone Government developed a five-year National Transformation Program, NAT 2018 to 2023.  The program laid a solid foundation for the prioritization of agriculture in the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) manifesto, with the sole aim of achieving food sovereignty.

Feed Salone Project is an offshoot of the NAT Programme, strengthened by the personal commitment and passion of President Bio, fortified and guided by a strong Presidential Council, and executed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Feed Salone is a derivative of the NAT Program of the government, but in an expanded form, by not only achieving food security, particularly rice production,  the country’s staple food but also national prosperity, through the participation of big private sector players, including rice importers.

Dr. Kpaka harvesting local rice

The overall objective is to boost agricultural productivity, to ensure food security and inclusive economic growth.  This commences by changing the attitudes of farmers and incentives created for them to undertake agriculture as a business.  It is also a call to restore the dignity, pride, and honor of farming in Sierra Leone.  Hence, President Bio has demonstrated his political will by putting the sector as the flagship for his 2nd term in office.

In this direction, the government has rolled out policy interventions that will be implemented to ensure local production is more competitive to attract investment for rice and other key value chains in production.

These policy interventions include a review of the country’s land laws, to ensure attraction to investment in farming. The government will also encourage commodity importers to participate in local rice production.  There will also be strategies, in collaboration with development partners, to de-risk private investments in the sector.

Policy intervention will only be facilitated by putting proper infrastructure in place.  Hence, the government will identify and create agro-industrial zones and construct trunk and feeder roads, bridges, markets, and storage facilities to scale up market linkages, with emphasis on improving electricity access, particularly to the agro-industrial zones.

Infrastructure goes along with an adequate financing model.  Hence, the Feed Salone project will be achieved through a blended financing model, which combines government resources and those of development partners, to attract private capital, ensure the sustainability of the plan, de-risk the sector, and create a culture of trust for investors.  Feed Salone Project will cost $1.6 Billion by 2028. It will commence with an initial $257.3 million in 2024.  The costs are mainly driven by the scale and scope of the interventions in each value chain of production; attracting more private investments with the private sector, to ensure robust data collection and reporting systems.  This will be achieved through the establishment of the Feed Salone Secretariat team within the Ministry of Agriculture, to boost the delivery of the program and build public service capacity.

These reforms can only be reflected in the farmers’ capability and capacity in the Feed Salone program, by the use of the Biometric National Farmer Registry (BNFR), anchored on the use of the E-Voucher model.  This is an innovation to eradicate middleman syndrome, to reduce fraud and corruption as in the past.

President Bio observing locally produced onions

BNFR is a tool for data collection and the cornerstone of informed decision-making and targeted interventions in agriculture for both the public and private sectors. It is an efficient and targeted allocation of resources, based on one source of truth.  It is linked to the National Identity Number (NIN).  The E-Voucher or E-Wallet is a direct financing model for farmers.

For 2024, the Feed Salone Action Plan includes, rice cluster development, E-Voucher revamp, efficient input distribution, machine repositioning, and better access to finance to minimize post-investment loss.

As of 15 March 2024, Feed Salone Program, targeting Small Holders Farmers, commenced 20,000 Hectares of rice production in all the 6 Agro-Ecological zones in the country, namely: Tormabum in Bonthe District, Gbondapi in Pujehun District, Komrabai in Mamilla District, Senehun in Moyamba District, Rhombe- Mambolo Kychom in Port Loko and Kambia Districts and Rolako in Bombali District.

The production process involves the supply of seeds, rice, and fertilizers directly to farmers, not through intermediaries.  Political or portfolio farmers are henceforth eliminated from the rice production processes.  The strong private sector–led participation in the Feed Salone Program, is among the big 5 game changers in the ruling SLPP manifesto of 2023 and the point program of last year’s campaign formula.

Farmers sorting local onions

Feed Salone is the government’s flagship program, targeting food self-sufficiency, through a major boost in agricultural productivity by robustly increasing investment in agriculture, which will support inclusive economic growth, reduce hunger and poverty, create jobs, boost export earnings, and build resilience against climate change calamities.

Feed Salone is President Bio’s passionate program to position Sierra Leone on a self-sufficiency trail, amid limited fiscal space and multiple external shocks.

The external environment is, today, chaotic as the recovery of the global economy is slow.  The US, China, and Western European economies are beset with crises, due to inflation and tight monetary policies, leading to disruption of energy and food markets, exacerbated by the ongoing Russian/Ukrainian war and recently, the Israel war in Gaza.  These are heightened by other geo-political tensions, economic fragmentation, and national disasters, resulting in global economic uncertainty, high cost of living, and food insecurity.

Feed Salone program, along with the other 5 game chargers, will reset the economy and restore macroeconomic stability, increase revenues and infrastructure, boost food production, expand export nets, and protect the vulnerable and socially excluded.

It is a new production tool in the agriculture sector, to reset the GDP growth rate, from 3-5% per annum to 10% per annum within the next 5 years.  This will only be achieved through the current policies by the government that will incentivize the active participation of big private sector players, including domestic rice importers and African rice producers and investors.

Dr. Kpaka harvesting local onions

The production chain is not only limited to rice but also cocoa, coffee, cashew, aqua-culture, small ruminants like sheep and goats, cassava products like gari and flour, and horticultural items like fruits and vegetables.

To strengthen the financial muscle of the Feed Salone Programme, the country’s Central Bank has created the Agriculture Credit Facility (ACF) with a Le460, 000,000 (20 Million Dollars) credit lifeline, to support the production of agricultural commodities across three prioritized value chains.

The ACF, for $20 Million or its Leones equivalent is part of measures to boost domestic food production, improve the processing of agricultural products, and reduce post-harvest losses through improved storage infrastructure and marketing of key agricultural commodities, with the explicit target of reducing food imports and food-price inflation.

ACF will provide low-interest loans to the private sector, with preference to rice importers, who are willing to produce, process, aggregate market, or deal in agricultural inputs.

The ACF is divided into two segments, with different re-payment periods, depending on the value chain activity.  The first segment covers aggregation and farm inputs supply, while the second covers processing and storage.

The Central Bank will administer the ACF, in cooperation with participating Commercial Banks, PCB, which include all financial institutions, subject to the Central Banks’s regulatory and prudential guidelines.

The eligible agricultural commodities and value claims funded by the ACF include production, aggregation, farm inputs supply, processing, and storage.

Farmers sieving local rice

Loan applicants, who have defaulted on loans in the last 5 years or have existing non-performing loans, or politically exposed persons, should not be eligible to participate in the ACF scheme.  Also, potential borrowers are required to have a minimum of 5 years of experience in the designated value claim applied, with women and youth will be given priority to access the facility.  All applications for funding under the ACF shall be reviewed and approved by the credit committee of the PCB, using its standard loan underwriting criteria.

PCB will ensure loans granted under ACF are backed by adequate moveable or immovable collateral, which is registered at the collateral registry at the Central Bank.

Upon approval by its Credit Committee, PCB shall submit to the Banking Supervision Department of the Central Bank, the loan application, all supporting documents used in its evaluation, and a cover letter that conveys the PCB’s recommendation of the loan to the Central Bank.

Funds accessed under the ACF shall not be used for any purpose other than what is explicitly stated in the loan application.  It shall not be used to purchase land, re-finance existing loans even if related to agriculture, and purchase any financial instrument or construction of a new facility.

Farmers on a local maize farm

An all-inclusive interest rate of 9 percent per annum shall be charged for all funds disbursed under the ACF scheme, with interest accrual effective on the 31st day following the disbursement of the loan.

Following its approval by the Credit Committee of the PCB, the total value of the loan, principal plus interest, with payment schedule, shall be communicated to the borrowing entity, in writing, before its submission to the Central bank.

In the event of loan servicing default, the period market rate obtained when the loan was approved, shall apply to all loans granted under the ACF.  More so, borrowers who defaulted on loans under the ACF shall be blacklisted for accessing credit within the financial sector for 5 years.  However, the Central Bank shall review default cases caused by adverse circumstances, natural or otherwise, beyond the control of the borrowing entity.

ACF by the Central Bank, through the Commercial Banks, is to strengthen the private sector-led agriculture production process, particularly rice, the country’s staple food.

Feed Salone program is President Bio’s personal heart-beat and pet project, laced with his deep passion and commitment.

Farmers at work

Recently, a 7-man African Development Bank (AfDB) delegation was in the country on a 5-day consultation mission, led by Dr. Mette Knudsen, Executive Director, AfDB.

The AfDB’s portfolio investment in Sierra Leone relates to strengthening the agricultural sector, access to quality infrastructure and rural electrification, promoting inclusive growth, educational empowerment, and job creation, through the private sector, by supporting youth and women in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Feed Salone program is leveraging technology to maximize the impact on investments in agriculture, through a biometric national farmer registry and e-voucher/wallet farmer scheme.

The biometric national farmer registry is a tool for data collection and the key ingredient of informed decision-making processes in the agricultural sector, while the e-voucher deals directly with the farmers and is linked to the NIN digital scheme.

For the year 2024, a synchronized time frame or key deadlines is activated, for proper planning and execution of the Feed Salone Project.

Dr Kpaka at one of the local poultry farms

In January/February 2024, an assessment of available machines for the 2024 planting season, registration, and training of agro-dealers and farmers were achieved.

In March 2024, verification of agro-dealers, identification, and selection of farmers and machines serviced and positioned in districts were also achieved.  Land preparation commenced and fleet tracking was installed with the positioning of inputs at collection centers.  The launch of the Agriculture Credit Facility (ACF) by the Central Bank was also achieved.

In April, the release of e-vouchers to selected farmers was also implemented.

In May/June, planting of rice commences, with the deployment of extension and crop staff across all districts.

In August, monitoring of input utilization will be activated.

In September, yield study data collection will commence.

In October, rice harvesting and aggregation and linkages to institutional feeding will also be activated.

The 2024 Feed Salone Action Plan, in summary, includes:-

•  Rice Cluster development
• E-Voucher revamp
• Efficient Input distribution
• Machines repositioning
• Better Access to finance
• Addressing Post-harvest Loss

The Feed Salone program is not only a strategy to transform the agricultural sector, but also a personal passion and commitment of President Bio to enhance and sustain food self-sufficiency, particularly domestic rice production by using modern technology.  The ultimate aim is to drastically reduce huge expenditures on rice importation put at over $100 million a year.  There is an urgent need to strike an appropriate balance between revenue efforts and expenditure management to reduce budget deficit, arrest exchange rate depreciation and minimize government borrowing from the banking sector.  This will lower inflation, and enhance and sustain the needed fiscal space needed for critical government priorities.

Palm oil nuts

The global economic outlook is hugely challenging.  The spillover from the ongoing geo-political tensions, escalations of the Russia – Ukraine crisis, the Israeli war in Gaza, and the potential collapse of the prices of commodities in the international market, led to inflationary pressures that persisted throughout 2023.  This is reflected in domestic food supply shocks, adjustments in fuel prices, and continuous depreciation of the Leone exchange rate.

Oil palm tree planting

Inflation, mainly imported, surged to 54.5% in September 2023, from 37.17% in December 2022.  However, with the pace of government intervention, inflation is expected to reduce to 23% by the end of 2024.

Economic growth is projected to increase to 4.7 percent in 2024 and 5.2 percent in 2025, due mainly to increased investment in agriculture (Feed Salone Programme), mining, and the services sector.

The prime objective is to reduce inflation and stabilize the exchange rate to lower the costs of living, thereby protecting the poor and vulnerable in the country.

Sierra Leone boasts of a wealth of natural resources.  With 5.4 million hectares of fertile land across the country, only 15% is currently under cultivation, with a remarkably impressive 3,000 mm of rainfall over half the year and a landscape enriched by 7 major rivers that traverse the country.

Sieving locally produced rice for the market

The country also boasts of a youthful population, with an average age of 19.  Women make up 70% of the agricultural labour force.  Women also play vital and critical roles in food production. Sierra Leoneans are resilient people, particularly Youth, eager to work, to earn a living.

Among the 5 game changers that President Bio is deeply passionate about for rapid economic development, Feed Salone tops the list.  The other 4 include Human Capital Development (HCD), Youth Employment Scheme (YES), Revamping Public Service Sector (RPSS), and Tech Infrastructure.

Through an effective synergy of the 5 game changers, accelerated economic growth in Sierra Leone is much expected beyond 2024.

This is the beginning.