SIERRA LEONE maq 4ª.indd - agrilife - Europa

Table 12. Food production targets and achievements (2005 – 2007)
Year Crop
2005
2006
2007
consumption is met from own production,
whereas in the Western Area, which is largely
urban, almost all food consumed is purchased.
This variation reflects remoteness (Tonkolili,
Koinadugu and Pujehun) and proximity (Western)
to markets, and the extent to which districts
have recovered after the war (Table 11). Table
12 summarises some of the targets set under the
Food Security Policy for the period 2005-2007
and reveals the underachievement in key crops
such as rice, cassava and sweet potato by 2007.
In 2009 Sierra Leone was one of the
eight countries identified by the FAO as most
vulnerable to the recent global food prices
crisis (FAO, 2009). This is mainly due to the
fact that the rural population in Sierra Leone
is characterised by spending just over half
their income exclusively on food (FAO, 2009).
According to World Bank data (2008) 21% of
the population in 2003/04 was unable to meet
minimum daily caloric requirements. FAO also
estimated that 51% of the population at the time
was chronically malnourished (FAOSTAT, Food
Security Statistics)
3.5.2 Crop production constraints
Rice (Paddy)
Production (Mt)
Productivity improvement in agriculture
rests on the removal of a number of structural
Cassava
Production (Mt)
Sweet Potato
Production(Mt)
constraints affecting the sector. The key constraints
are the adherence to the subsistence method
of farming, rudimentary tools, vulnerability to
climate, pest and market conditions as well as
high rate of illiteracy, which increases the risk
factor facing intensive agriculture activities.
There is lack of significant and committed inflow
of private investment into the sector. Each of
these aspects is separately addressed under the
following headings of inputs use and markets,
output markets, infrastructure and investment.
Input use and markets
Groundnut
Production (Mt)
Target 540 1,935,221 160,856 95,684
Actual 552 2,287,060 191,498 167,2
% Achievement 102 118 119 175
Target 875 2,100,000 185,368 110,265
Actual 875 2,973,100 168,129 115,203
% Achievement 100 142 91 104
Target 875 2,100,000 168,129 115,203
Actual 637,983 1,236,852 158,219 118,849
% Achievement 73 59 94 103
Source: MAFFS: The Food Security Policy for Sierra Leone (2007).
The low use of purchased inputs, including
tools, seeds and technology is largely due to
widespread poverty amongst farming population.
The use of purchased inputs is, for the most part,
very low in Sierra Leone.
Fertilizer usage was less than half that for Sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA) in the mid 1990s, and has
fallen since then. In the past, government tried
to encourage fertilizer use with heavy subsidies,
mainly in development project areas. Although
the government has now moved out of fertilizer
supply, there has been only limited interest by
the private sector in taking this over. Regarding
agrochemicals the distribution outlets in the major
production areas are virtually non-existent, and
Rural poverty reduction and food security: The case of smallholders in Sierra Leone
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