Sowing the seeds of progress

Agriculture was a major casualty of the war ... many farm workers were driven from their homes, crops destroyed and export earners such as timber, coffee, rice and oil palm products seriously affected.

Areas of forest are cleared by fire to plant crops - however the palm tree has some resistance to fire and usually survives to provide palm oil products.

As stability returns many farm workers have returned to their land to repair the damage and re-establish their crops.

The need for the nation to feed itself is top of the list for action. Various agencies including the government have launched projects including schemes whereby people in the rural areas are given tools and seeds and allowed to use areas of marshland and forest to cultivate crops. They usually start with a rice crop, but poor soil quality means a change to something like cassava or ground nut the following year.

These schemes cause concern to organisations like the Environmental Foundation for Africa because of the damage of this 'slash and burn' agriculture to the forest land of the country.

Areas of forest are cut and burned with the ashes acting as nutrition to the soil. The cleared land is farmed for a period of one to three years and then left fallow for a period of five to ten years which means the farmers must find another area of land to farm. Marshland is more nutritious but also more difficult to farm.

Ginger propogation project

Working with the Institute of Agricultural Research, Sierra Leone Export Development and Investment Corporation (SLEDIC) set up a ginger propogation project at Lungi in the Kafu Bullom Chiefdom in Port Loko district, aimed at growing an improved variety to farmers.

The yield from the Lungi project is now being used as seed for further planting in the traditional ginger belts of Moyamba, Bo, Bauya, Bumpeh and Tikonko. Testing and adaptation is being carried out to ensure that the seed will suit the local environment.

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