SIERRA LEONE maq 4ª.indd - agrilife - Europa

6 Survey Results
134
Box 3: Crop production losses
Crop production losses by district, in percentage of total output
Northern region Eastern region
Bombali Tonkolili Kono Kenema Kailahun
Cocoa 18% 6% 8%
Coffee 24% 5% 6%
Upland rice 30% 23% 8% 5% 7%
Lowland rice 28% 30% 14% 4% 5%
Boli rice 30%
The Table above shows the proportion of self-reported crop production losses specific to each region
and district in the survey. Smallholders in the Bombali and Tonkolili districts suffered the highest losses
at around 30% of the total output, while smallholders in the Kenema and Kailahun districts faced the
lowest percentage losses at around 6%. Kono falls in the middle with losses varying from 8% for upland
rice to 24% for coffee.
The causes reported for these losses are specific to the crop regardless of the region under
consideration:
• Cocoa: blackpod disease, monkeys and thieves
• Coffee: weeds, monkeys and thieves
• Rice: cutting grass procedure, rodents, birds and goats
These output losses percentages are relatively low in both regions (especially in the Eastern region)
when compared to government reports which estimate losses of up to 40% simply reegarding the post
harvest losses. According to these sources, the losses are due to poor handling, poor transportation,
and poor storage facilities (MAFFS, 2009).
Harvested, but uncollected rice, photographed close to Makeni, November 2009
Clearly, the situation of smallholders is also linked to the legacies of the civil conflict. In the particular case
of coffee, during the war, plantations were not pruned and the awareness of the importance of pruning
got lost, thus not only trees were mismanaged but the presence of over grown weed was accentuated.
Additionally, pruning such tall trees represents a particularly arduous task for smallholders with rudimentary
tools, and labour is already scarce. Re-training and awareness raising of these managerial practices which
influence the magnitude of potential yields gains and minimize losses may be considered highly relevant
for development cooperation measures. A same situation may be argued for rice, where the rudimentary
tools, collection practices and deficient storage facilities reduce overall output.