Over 70% of Sierra Leone's farming population is found in rural areas, mainly engaged in rain-fed subsistence farming with less than one hectare of land. Given this scale of farming, there has been little or no surplus to meet the country's staple food consumption needs, making Sierra Leone a net importer of food. The problem of low productivity is the result of poor-quality inputs, while climate variability has contributed significantly to further reductions in agricultural production. As a result, the socio-economic conditions of Sierra Leone's farmers are deplorable, leaving them vulnerable to shocks and threats to food security.
Despite the substantial investments made by the government over the last few decades to resolve the problems associated with the agricultural production ecosystem, these efforts have not led to any notable improvements in the sector. The mismatch of intervention channels with the priorities of the country's food system and the ineffectiveness of implementation strategies have been major drawbacks. Understanding the full range of problems associated with the country's agricultural situation, the Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP-SL), an initiative funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Sierra Leone government's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), has introduced an innovative approach aimed at guiding small-scale farmers towards commercialisation. This involves establishing strategic partnerships with private sector players to provide mechanisation services, including ploughing, harrowing, seed preparation and harvesting in the vast lowland ecologies, as well as the distribution of improved rice seeds, fertilisers and other agrochemicals in fourteen farming districts across Sierra Leone. This effort has facilitated the cultivation of rice on more than 16,500 hectares of lowlands in 2024.
Central to this approach is the implementation of the community-led cluster farming model, which promotes sustainable farming practices and encourages farmers from various neighbouring communities to consolidate their efforts towards large-scale farming. This model makes technology transfer more efficient and productive, while promoting community cohesion and the efficient use of resources. These investments have led to significant transformations, as the project's beneficiaries can testify.
Mohamed Sankoh, a 30-year-old farmer from the Tonkolili district, shared his experience: "I never thought I would be able to get such a high yield from my farm - 30 50kg bags of cleaned husked rice for my household - after farming for 10 years. When the FSRP got in touch with the community, including my household, they encouraged us to join a neighbouring community with larger farmland of 500 hectares. They informed us that machines would prepare our land free of charge and provide us with seeds, fertilisers and herbicides.
At first, I was reluctant to leave my small plot for another site, but I later realised that the programme was designed to enable us to produce more rice for our families, ten times more than what we were growing individually".
In fact, the FSRP has not only provided inputs and mechanisation support to these farmers, but has also facilitated the transformation of knowledge for adaptive responses to the effects of climate change. To this end, it has organised extension visits to provide advisory services and disseminate early warning messages, which are at the heart of its integrated landscape management effort. This initiative proved its relevance during the widespread flooding that affected the country's main farmlands during the 2024 agricultural season, resulting in an average loss of around 15% of farms. As one of the farmers supported in the Port Loko district pointed out, this effort has had a considerable impact on resolving crop loss issues for farmers.
Isatu Sesay-Taklaneh, a farmer in Magbota, in the Port Loko district, explains: "Major floods occur here every five years. Similar floods occurred this year and affected rice farms, including mine. However, before that, our capacity to respond to this problem was weak. When the FSRP started to support us, we asked for the rapid supply of seeds and fertilisers so that the rice could be planted before any flooding. The programme responded quickly, providing mechanisation, seed, fertiliser and extension support, including early warning messages. However, labour shortages delayed planting in some parts of the field, which suffered more from the floods.
The PRSF's contributions are crucial to the delivery of the Sierra Leone government's Feed Salone programme. The project continues to strengthen the resilience of local food production, giving farmers the means to adapt to climate change and withstand shocks, while guaranteeing the country's food security.
