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The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, has on Saturday, 22nd March, 2025, officially handed over essential agricultural equipment to 23 rice farming groups in the Bo and Moyamba districts, enhancing efforts to increase local rice production as part of the Feed Salone initiative.
The second planting season highlights an urgent need for agricultural machinery, particularly gender-friendly equipment that women can operate. Dr. Kpaka emphasized the crucial role of women in farming, asserting that the success of the Feed Salone initiative heavily relies on empowering them.
“This intervention aligns with the government’s efforts to boost productivity, stimulate the local economy, and reduce dependency on imports. Our women and youth are essential to this initiative; they are the backbone of agriculture, and we must empower them to produce more rice products,” Dr. Kpaka stated.
The donated equipment includes power tillers, rice threshers, rice mills, parboilers, reapers, and destoners, aimed at promoting mechanized farming. The Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (AVDP) Project Manager, Madam Monica Kwame-Greene, noted that the project also supports the farming groups with cash-for-work initiatives, technical training, quality inputs, grain storage solutions, water wells, and solar-powered irrigation to improve sustainability.
So far, according to report, the initiative has developed 1,850 hectares of swamps towards a target of 2,100 hectares for the 2024/2025 agricultural season, with an additional 1,800 hectares currently receiving assistance.
In Moyamba District, Dr. Kpaka inaugurated a new grain store, unveiled the equipment, and symbolically launched the farming season by operating a puddling machine, which drew enthusiasm from local farmers.
The AVDP expressed continues commitment to providing resources and support to smallholder farmers, driving optimism for a brighter agricultural future in Sierra Leone.
