AreaSierra Leone

Commodity GroupRice

CommodityAll

Date16/10/2023

Policy CategoryProduction

Policy InstrumentProduction support, stock-holding policy, Government procurement

DescriptionLaunched the Feed Salone Initiative, a five-year strategy that builds on the National Agricultural Transformation Programme with an overarching aim of boosting agricultural productivity to enhance food security and foster inclusive economic growth. The Feed Salone strategy identifies rice as one of the value chains to be prioritized over a five-year horizon. It targets to close Sierra Leone's rice import gap by increasing the area under rice cultivation by 73 000 ha in inland valley swamps and other lowland ecologies, by developing 30 000 ha for irrigated rice and vegetable cultivation; by raising yields from 1.9 tonnes to 4.0 tonnes per ha; and by reducing post-harvest losses. In addition, it envisages increasing the availability of tractors and other agricultural machinery through the establishment of an Agricultural Mechanisation Fund, improving the availability and access to agricultural inputs, including hybrid seeds, and rehabilitating dilapidated rice processing mills. A Strategic Grain Reserve would also be established, alongside eight rice production clusters located in districts with high productivity potential. Institutional purchases of local produce would also promoted and steps would be taken to attract investment in the sector, including by encouraging participation of rice importers in local production.