Sierra Leone News: Salone Hopes For High Yields And Quality Production in Agriculture

The World Bank group has been a huge contributor to Sierra Leone’s agricultural development through the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) and it is hoped that with value addition to the country’s rice and cassava production chain, there is hope for high yields and quality production in the coming years.

At the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI) at Rokupr, Dr. Dennis Taylor, Senior Research Specialist at the Institute, said with support from the Bank, there is hope of high yields, quality production, attraction to markets and increased income for the farmers and this will end poverty.

As the aim of WAAPP is to capacitate farmers with a focus to reduce poverty, through improved technologies to boost their productivity, Dr. Taylor said, WAAPP has ensured this by “providing laboratories, supply of equipment, rehabilitation of the institute and training of students.”

He maintained that the Institute now produces the technology and that are extended to the farmers through the extension services provided by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Senior Researcher further maintained that as a way of improving the infrastructure of the Institute, they have provided freezing room for seeds, developed a biological science laboratory and provided a post-harvest and engineering laboratory. He went on to disclose that as a way of enhancing transportation of produces and technology, the WAAPP has provided two boats and rehabilitated a jetty and have also enhanced the capacity of eight (8) of its staff with training at the Masters level and two (2) at Doctoral level in different agriculture-related disciplines.

The WAAPP project he said has been “one of the most successful World Bank programmes” in Sierra Leone, as famers have received improved farming systems, received improved rice varieties and inputs like fertilizers to increase production. These have to a very large extent enhanced the livelihoods of farmers,” Dr. Taylor pointed out.
He however indicated that there is a challenge of energy, and described it as “a major challenge” noting that many of the farming activities require twenty-four hours uninterrupted power supply to ensure quality production and sustain the yields.

The WAAPP programme contributes to two principal objectives of the Bank namely: making agriculture more productive and sustainable to increase economic growth and improving food security and reducing poverty all in the aim of guaranteeing and supporting regional integration.

Source: Awoko