• Reference: P-SL-AAO-007
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• Status: On goingOnGo
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Background

Agriculture is the dominant sector of the Sierra Leonean economy providing employment to an estimated 70% of the rural population and contributing about 40% to GDP. Prior to the start of the civil war in 1991, the productive capacities of the agricultural sector had been on the decline due to neglect and the unsustainability of the shifting cultivation system. The decline was accentuated by the mass departure of a large part of the rural population from their farms as a result of the 10 year civil war, which led to the drastic disruption in farming activities, massive loss of lives and serious destruction of the economic, social and physical infrastructure. During 1997/98, food production was estimated to have dropped by 50% from the 1991/92 levels. The areas most affected are the eastern. northern and southern parts of the country. A countrywide Needs Assessment Survey carried out by Government in May 1996 estimated that about 250,000 farm families had been displaced and more have fled with the recent renewal of activities.

Rationale

The large-scale disruption of farming activities has contributed to a situation where food availability has fallen considerably creating acute food shortages that lead to malnutrition in some regions, particularly among women and children. The coping mechanisms of  the rural populations have been severely stretched making communities  vulnerable. The situation is exacerbated by the reduction of seed stocks which in many areas have already been consumed, compounding an already precarious food security situation.  Having lost whatever means of production they had, attempts by war-affected families (returnees and non-returnees) to restart production as the security situation improved in some areas, have met major obstacles. In the short term, families in war affected areas require support in the form of basic production inputs to recommence production. The longer term rehabilitation and recovery phase will involve mainly rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure, rehabilitation of food and cash crop farms, rehabilitation of agricultural services facilities including research, extension and livestock, restocking of livestock, improvement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment (MAFE)s operational capacity through institutional support and strengthening and natural resource management. The Agriculture Rehabilitation Project (ARP) can make a significant contribution to the government’s resettlement, rehabilitation and recovery efforts.

Objective

The main project goal is to increase agricultural production and improve farmers’ income. The principal objective of the project is to restore agricultural production to pre-war level through the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector.

Description

The project has three main components, namely Support to Agricultural Production; Capacity Building of MAFE’s and Rural Communities,  and Support to Implementation and Project Management.

Benefits

The project will have considerable and immediate impact on domestic food supplies which will contribute to a rapid reversal of declining food self-sufficiency and reduce imports. The increased production of the main cash export crops will contribute to a recovery in foreign exchange earnings. Normal social life will resume for the war affected families. The project will also contribute to the rehabilitation of the rural infrastructure by rehabilitating 800 km rural roads, rehabilitation of three centres for production of foundation seed rice, and rehabilitation of three centres for production of basic food planting material. The project will also rehabilitate 93 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment (MAFE) field offices and 32 housing units.

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