Department of Agricultural Economics

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

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Start date: 2010Has files: Yes

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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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    Market and Welfare Effects of Food Security Policies on Smallholder Rice Farmers and Consumers in Sierra Leone
    (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2020-05-15) Sheriff, Mohamed Ajuba
    This research examines the market and welfare effects of three food security policy options in Sierra Leone in response to the high rate of rice importation and rising rice prices over the last decade. These policies aimed at curbing the rate of rice importation, promoting local rice production, and enhancing welfare of smallholder rice farmers in rural communities. The policies investigated included: 1) reinstating tariffs on rice imports, 2) promoting value-chain strengthening interventions that increase production of locally produced rice and 3) instituting a quota (or some quantity restriction) on rice imports. A log-linear comparative static displacement model was used to carry out the analysis. For the first policy, 20%, 30% and 40% shocks were introduced in the equilibrium system to represent decreases in the quantity of rice imported as a result of reinstating tariffs on imported rice. Results revealed that welfare of consumers and or smallholder farmers of locally produced rice was enhanced by 9.4% at a 10% tariff increase and 17.8% at a 20% tariff increase. Consumers of imported rice had their welfare enhanced by 3.5% at a 10% tariff increase while welfare was dis-enhanced by 5.4% at a 20% tariff increase. With a 10% increase in the supply of locally produced rice, there was a corresponding welfare enhancement on smallholder rice farmers and consumers by 14.43% and by 27% for a 20% increase in supply. Marginal increases were recorded for consumers of imported rice. The results show that the optimal policy in the current post-Ebola national recovery environment is one that increases local rice production through cultivation intensification and rice value chain efficiency.