Department of Agricultural Economics

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://dspace.njala.edu.sl/handle/20.500.144402/170

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Start date: 2010End date: 2019

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    Linkages among Key Actors in the Climate Change and Food Security Innovation System in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia
    (African Journals OnLine, 2013-01-17) Agwu, AE
    The study used the innovation system approach to ascertain the intensity and trends of linkages among key actors in the climate change and food security innovation system in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Data were collected through the use of semi structured interview schedule, key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) and analyzed using percentages, mean scores and trend analysis. Only 1.8% of the farmers from Nigeria, 2.5% from Sierra Leone and 0.7% from Liberia possessed special training on climate change adaptation and food security issues. The presence of local collaboration among actors was higher in Nigeria than in Sierra Leone and Liberia. There was nonexistence of overseas linkages with majority (89.0% for Nigeria; 98.0 for Sierra Leone and 96.8% for Liberia) of the farmers across the three countries. The intensity of linkages / collaborations existing among actors in the enterprise domain, in the three countries, outweighs that with other domains, with higher collaborations existing among the small-scale farmers and famers’ associations. However, there was a perceived increase in the trend of linkage between farmers and R & D institutions in Nigeria between 2007 and 2009, with a linkage index of more than 2. There was also an increasing higher linkage index (of more than 2) between farmers and technology delivery institutions in Nigeria than in Sierra Leone and Liberia, but a low linkage index of less than 2 between farmers and policy making bodies for all the countries. Poor generation of innovations over the past ten years and poor domestic support for climate change adaptation and food security in the West African sub-region were identified. The study points to the need to intensify the collaboration efforts, between local and foreign partners, as this will bring about the generation of better and improved innovations on food security and adaptive measures.
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    Socio-Cultural Factors of Food Insecurity in Sierra Leone
    (IISTE, 2019-10-01) Johnny, Michael
    Food crop production in Sierra Leone is dominated by rice. It is cultivated by almost all small-scale farmers and consumed in all Sierra Leonean households irrespective of income levels. This underscores the importance attached to rice as a major staple crop. Sierra Leone is a rice deficit nation. Available statistics indicate that between 1970 and 2000, the country was self-sufficient in rice production only in 1975. Between 1979 and 2000, annual domestic paddy production fell from 504,000 to 200,000 Mt. During the same period, the volume of imported rice to fill domestic production shortfalls increased from 30% to 60% of total rice consumption. The 1991-2002 civil war and associated insecurity throughout the rural areas resulted in a dramatic fall in production throughout the 1990s. Since the cessation of armed hostilities in 2002, the recovery of rice production in Sierra Leone has been impressive although self-sufficiency remains elusive. A peculiar feature of food availability in Sierra Leone (especially in rural communities) is its seasonality. Typically, there is widespread food scarcity in farming communities between the months of July and September each year. This seasonal food shortage is commonly referred to as the “hunger season." A plethora of explanations exist for the occurrence of the hunger season. The most frequently cited include insufficient supplies in store due to poor harvest; a lack of skills in storage; and crop loss due to inefficient processing/preservation techniques. This paper argues that apart from the production related explanations (such as insufficient supplies in store due to poor harvest; a lack of skills in storage; and crop loss due to inefficient processing/preservation techniques), several socio-cultural factors need to be considered in accounting for food insecurity in Sierra Leone. **Keywords:** Socio-cultural, food insecurity, food production, Sierra Leone DOI : 10.7176/DCS/9-10-07 Publication date :October 31 st 2019
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    Do Land Ownership and Agro-Ecological Location of Farmland Influence Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties? Evidence from Sierra Leone
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2019-12-01) Mansaray, Bashiru
    This study investigates the impact of farmland ownership and agro-ecological location on the adoption of the two most important sources of improved rice varieties (NERICA and ROK) in the context of Sierra Leone. In terms of farmland ownership, the results showed that farmers who cultivated their own land had a higher tendency of remaining as non-adopters of improved varieties, but those who rented farmland or were engaged in sharecropping had higher adoption rates of improved rice varieties. Also, the location of farmland (uplands or inland valley swamps) determined the rates of adoption of improved varieties differently. For instance, upland regions showed faster adoption of ROK varieties, but inland valley areas showed faster adoption of NERICA varieties. We also examined the survival rates of local rice varieties. The adoption of improved varieties was only occurring at a very low rate, and the farmers’ adoption of ROK varieties was swifter than for NERICA varieties. This study recommends that policies advocating the adoption of improved rice varieties in Sierra Leone must take into consideration the patterns of farmland ownership and location.