Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, is spearheading President Bio’s flagship agriculture programme, “Feed Salone.” This initiative aims to transform the agricultural sector and the nation’s food system, stimulate economic growth, create jobs, build climate resilience and enhance food security and sovereignty. Before assuming his current role, Dr. Kpaka served as an embedded advisor at the Tony Blair Institute in the Office of the President, where he was the Chief Technical Adviser to the Chief Minister. His extensive career includes key positions in international organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). As Minister, Dr. Kpaka also represents Sierra Leone as a co-founder and co-chair of the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF), a coalition dedicated to fundamentally transforming national food systems to address food security and climate change proactively.
In this interview with
Abubakar Hashim, Dr. Kpaka discusses the achievements and challenges of President Bio’s “Feed Salone” programme.
Question: President Bio has repeatedly emphasized that “Feed Salone” is not only a strategy but his personal passion and commitment to food self-sufficiency. How far is the execution of the programme?
Answer: We are almost one year into the President’s second term, during which he declared agriculture his priority. Agriculture remains the main source of livelihood for approximately 65% of households in Sierra Leone. Last year, agriculture contributed the largest share to our GDP, around 57%, according to the World Bank analysis. However, high food insecurity is still a pressing issue, as it is in many other African countries. Therefore, President Bio has made agriculture his flagship programme and we are now in full swing of its implementation.
To date, the government has pledged to mobilise significant investment of over NLe 37.6 billion over the next five years to deliver on the Feed Salone objectives. For this fiscal year, national agricultural budget allocation has increased from 2% to 7%. This funding will primarily support the development of agro-ecological zones, alongside strategic investments in infrastructure critical for boosting local staple production, particularly rice.
To fill in critical capacity gaps in the Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security got clearance from the Ministry of Finance to hire 700 field-level staff in 2024, and another 300 in 2025. This will enhance the operations of extension, monitoring, data collection, engineering and livestock services and directly boost the implementation of Feed Salone in the field.
We have achieved a lot since the launch of the Feed Salone Strategy.
1) We are implementing innovative policies to boost local rice production and decrease imports which cost us approximately USD 200 million a year. The first policy aims to increase the participation of rice importers in local rice production through backward integration. Major rice importers, like Commodity Trading Company (CTC), which imports about 60% of our rice, are now to engage in local rice value chain production and sales. The second policy aims to increase the share of locally produced rice in government purchases. Each year, up to 20% of the rice purchased by the government to feed personnel in public institutions, such as the police, military and schools, should be locally produced.
2) The Bank of Sierra Leone recently launched a $10 million Agriculture Credit Facility (ACF). This initiative aims to encourage the private sector, including rice importers, poultry farmers and onion producers, to access funds and participate in the Feed Salone programme. This year, we’ve attracted both local and international private sector players to the value chain production process. Locally, we have made significant progress in onion production, meeting around 20% of our domestic needs.
3) In 2024, the government has started setting up the foundation for Sierra Leone to achieve rice self-sufficiency and close the production gap. It aims to put under rice cultivation of approximately 45,000 hectares of land in 2024 in addition to the projected 500,000 hectares of land cultivated by the private sector farmers and businesses.
4) We’ve also developed an $800 million irrigation business project, covering up to 30,000 hectares of irrigated rice field in Tormabum which we aim to implement as soon as we secure the necessary funding.
5) It also involves strategic interventions to boost local production of key value chains such as cocoa, onions and poultry, facilitating land access, building necessary infrastructure (roads, bridges, electricity access) and attracting more local and international investment, as the private sector is at the forefront of the Feed Salone Strategy.
6) We’ve secured substantial funds, with $18 million worth of projects upcoming for poultry and cassava processing. Additionally, we are developing 2,000 hectares of irrigation for joint ventures with the private sector.
These are some of the examples of how we are laying the groundwork to boost food production and productivity in the country.
Question: What are the benefits and challenges of the “Feed Salone” programme?
Answer:The main challenge is adequate infrastructure, particularly roads, bridges and access to energy. Without proper infrastructure, farmers will continue to produce at a subsistence level. Therefore, our “Feed Salone” strategy prioritizes roads and bridges construction, as well as energy and water access. Attracting private sector players, both local and foreign, is crucial for the programme’s success.
Despite these challenges, the benefits are immense. We’ve already started seeing positive outcomes. For example, eight months ago, Sierra Leone faced an onion crisis. With effective government incentives, local onions are now more available at almost half the price. Private sector players are increasingly participating in agriculture, responding to President Bio’s call for involvement.
By prioritizing agriculture as the flagship and channeling substantial investments into it, H.E. The President aims not only to stabilize the economy and alleviate the cost of living for the citizens, but also to pave the way towards a future where Sierra Leone celebrates complete food sovereignty – a day when no Sierra Leonean worries about their next meal.
Achieving food self-sufficiency and sustainable economic growth are the key objectives of Feed Salone. This initiative is designed to close the gap between the production of our major staples and local demand, increase export earnings, create employment, and establish a resilient food system.
Question: How do the costs of locally produced agricultural items compare to imported ones?
Answer: Our approach to pricing is two-fold. First, we aim to increase production. To attract investment and boost production, we cannot dictate prices. Once production reaches full capacity, prices will decrease naturally due to the laws of supply and demand. When productivity levels are optimal across the value chain, prices will eventually drop.
Our comprehensive approach to enhancing food self-sufficiency will not only mitigate price volatility but also strengthen food sovereignty, bolster resilience against external shocks and contribute significantly to food security and hunger reduction.
Question: Are you optimistic about the outcome of President Bio’s “Feed Salone” programme?
Answer: I am very optimistic about its positive outcomes and I strongly believe that we will achieve President Bio’s “Feed Salone” objectives. H.E. The President said himself that Feed Salone is more than just a strategy; it’s his and his government’s commitment to the whole Agriculture sector and to our people.
We have a solid plan, strong political will and the Ministry has mobilized all available resources to boost domestic production and productivity through policies, strategic investment channeled into infrastructure to improve market access and the creation of the agro-industrial zones for intensified rice production. The Ministry of Finance is funding the development of these hubs and transportation infrastructure.
We are creating an enabling environment for Feed Salone to succeed and our hard work has already shown positive outcomes. We will succeed because we cannot afford to fail our nation and our children, who deserve to inherit a prosperous and food-secure Sierra Leone.