National Association Of Farmers Of Sierra Leone Meet President Kabbah
By Marian Samu

MONDAY, AUGUST 2: As Sierra Leone engages its gear to meet its 2007 Food Security timescale which was declared by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah during his inaugural address at the beginning of his second term of office, government and key stakeholders with farmers as the major stakeholder have been putting plans together to ensure that the President's vision of food security by 2007 is achieved. One of such moves was the organization of farmers under the umbrella of the National Association of Farmers of Sierra Leone (NAFSL).

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security very recently assisted the Association in conducting elections for executive members to manage the affairs of the Association. Dr. Sama S. Monde, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, presented the newly constituted National Executive of the National Association of Farmers of Sierra Leone (NAFSL), to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.

During the presentation ceremony at the President's Office in Freetown, Dr. Monde told the President that with funds provided by his Ministry NAFSL has been able to conduct nationwide elections with executive members at Chiefdom, District , Regional and National levels. He said that because of their belief that NAFSL could be the catalyst for Food Security, they have tried to organize and empower the farmers so as to be a vibrant institution that could match and emulate other farmers elsewhere in the world.

Dr. Monde stated that they have collaborated with NAFSL in the area of training and FAO have supported the setting up of a Special Programme for Food Security where farmers are taught extension services in the Farmers' field schools. He said he was proud to report that they now have farmers as extension officers on the ground.

Dr. Monde assured the farmers that his Ministry will continue to collaborate and mobilize farmers through input support schemes for fertilizers, machinery and cash loans to enable them purchase their own implements.

The president of the National Association of Farmers of Sierra Leone, P.C. Somanoh Kapen III, while thanking President Kabbah for providing this unique forum for farmers to articulate their views, concerns and constraints, remarked that their Association through the support of government has undergone a period of transformation, marked by structural reform, democratisation and capacity building.

Lauding the government for its remarkable achievement in the management of the economy and the restoration of values, P.C. Somanoh III said the performance of government has created the atmosphere whereby the national objectives of peace, security, and development can be achieved.

He also commended President Kabbah for recognizing that agriculture is the anchor for poverty alleviation, adding that his predecessors ignored the perceived truth that food security is the key to national development. P.C. Somanah said that during the last two years, the dreams and hopes of farmers have been high and despite the constraints, government has endeavoured to meet most of their expectations.

Notwithstanding the gains achieved within the past two years, the NAFSL president highlighted some of their concerns, which included the absence of a national agricultural policy and inadequate budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Agriculture, coupled with the administrative and bureaucratic procedures to access funds, absence of private sector investment and lack of well-organised marketing and distribution systems as some of their main concerns.

He, however, suggested that as the food security programme calls for massive investment and capital input, and in the absence of private sector investment, government has to devise ways to fund the agricultural sector so that the programme cannot be derailed. He also suggested the imposition of a small levy on imported rice with the aim of using the money to finance agricultural activities locally.

In addressing the marketing of agricultural products, P.C. Somanah said they recommend that government take a hard look at the defunct Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board (SLPMB) and redefine its role. He said that while the farmer is focusing on production and marketing, the Ministry of Agriculture should be concerned with providing the right atmosphere that is conducive to the farmer to enable him undertake his task.

The regional chairpersons of NAFSL highlighted area-specific constraints and challenges of the different regions of the country. Chief Evans Gbemeh from the Eastern region said although government has assisted farmers in a lot of areas, there is still more to be done in the area of improving the poor road networks, and providing agro-chemicals and pesticides in particular. He said they are in great need of the improved varieties of planting materials especially the improved variety of ginger from China and oil palm from Malaysia. Special request was made by the Eastern region farmers for support to their cocoa and coffee plantations as the ten years rebel have had serious effects on these plantations which were left unattended during the period of the war and the provision of seedlings and machinery as they too have some grassland that could be cultivated mechanically.

The Northern region chairman, Mr. S.A. Kargbo, thanked the government for their interventions in the provision of seeds, tractors and other farming implements, but requested government to involve the farmers in the procurement and delivery of farming inputs. He praised President Kabbah for his vision for agriculture, saying that any leader who takes agriculture seriously is bound to succeed. Mr. Kargbo disclosed that from surveys conducted in their region they have found out that there was more cultivation of farms with the traditional hoe and machetes, totalling forty-four thousand hectares of land, while mechanical cultivation accounted for only eighteen thousand hectares. He therefore appealed for the provision of more machines as this will help increase the productive level of farmers.

The Southern region Chairman, P. C. Victor Kebbie praised the Ministry of Agriculture for their supervisory role in organizing the farmers even in the midst of budgetary constraints. He particularly highlighted their constraints in accessing bank credit because of the high collateral required, and asked that government intervene for farmers to be allowed to use their land as collateral at the banks. He assured the President of the determination of the southern region farmers' support in actualising the President's vision of food security.

Mr. Olu John from the Western Area also lauded government's efforts in improving agricultural activities countrywide, noting that it is disheartening that Sierra Leone with a lot of arable land still imports rice.

While congratulating the farmers on their successfully concluded elections countrywide, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah said that farmers are very important people, and it is important for farmers not to bring politics into farming. He said that it is not because you do not support the ruling party that you should not support the food security programme, he admonished.

President Kabbah remarked that importing rice means exporting employment, and if we continue importing rice we will be providing not only cash for the foreign farmers but we will also be creating employment for them, to our own disadvantage.

He informed the farmers that because of the importance government places on agriculture, he has appointed a secong Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abdul Karim Sesay, who is an Agricultural Engineer. He said that Dr. Karim Sesay, apart from having worked for some time in Botswana, helping to develop that country's agricultural sector, is also a big time farmer.

President Kabbah used the opportunity to appeal to all civil servants and others to spend their weekends productively by engaging in some form of agricultural activity. He encouraged people to have develop small kitchen gardens, which can cater for basic home consumption.

The President also informed the farmers that government has developed an agricultural policy for the country. He also informed them that an investment code has been developed in which all agricultural inputs imported into this country will be tax-free.

On the issue of bank credit, President Kabbah said he has already spoken to some commercial banks to make available credit facilities to farmers and also talked about government's moves to set up Rural Banks to support agricultural activities.

The President appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture and NAFSL to work together and ensure the involvement of farmers in input procurement.

Vice President Berewa also took part in the discussions.