The Acting Minister of Agriculture & Forestry, Abubakarr Karim, has said that the Agriculture Ministry would create a credit facility to stimulate private sector activity, pre-position agricultural machines for lease to the private sector, give direct support to farmers through an E-voucher system for input and mechanization services, and modernize the agricultural advisory services through E-extension.
He said that to stimulate private sector activities, the Government of Sierra Leone has committed to extend a US$ 50 million facility for the private sector to access investment in the following area: fertilizer importation and distribution; seed production and distribution; Agrochemical (pesticide/herbicides); mechanization and processing equipment.
“To commence the process, the first tranche of US$ 10 million would be made available by the government by February 1, 2021 for private sector,” Karim said.
Karim said that the Government of Sierra Leone had made an initial investment by purchasing hundreds of agricultural machinery which include tractors, power tillers, seed broadcasters and fertilizer applicators, adding that the equipment would be leased to farmers in the private sector to commence mechanization services in the country.
He added that the machines would be used to establish at least seven mechanization service centres (Machine Rings) across the country, noting that the fleet of machinery to be pre-positioned is estimated to worth over USD $ 18,000,000.
Karim further revealed that to stimulate demand, Government has further committed, through its annual budget of 2021 outlay, another UD$5.5 million as direct support to vulnerable farmers to access and afford agricultural inputs through an E-voucher system, adding that the scheme would target an initial group of 30,000 farming household across the country for a period of three years.
He mentioned that the modernization of the agriculture advisory services through E-extension has currently commenced with a national average rice yield of 1.68tons/hectare quality inputs, adding that mechanization alone would get the country closer to various rice yield potential ecologies.
He said that in this regard the Government of Sierra Leone has also committed US$300,000 to strengthen extension services, including establishing an E-extension platform, serving the selected cohort of farmers to raise yields and enhance market linkages and other agricultural services.
By George M.O. Williams
27/01/2021. ISSUE NO: 7989