ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS LIMITING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY OF FEMALE FARMERS IN SIERRA LEONE (CASE STUDY OF PORT LOKO DISTRICT IN THE NORTH-WEST REGION
Mohamed Syed Fofanah
, Haja Isata Abdulai-Kamara
Key words: Subsistence agriculture, poverty, poverty indicators, gender equity, value chain, livelihood, rudimentary agricultural practices
ABSTRACT Agriculture forms the economic backbone in Sierra Leone as almost all rural communities embark in subsistence agriculture. Poverty is widespread and deep and the country’s poverty profile shows that the main poverty indicators are insufficient food, poor housing, poor health, high illiteracy, limited access to clean water, and lack of money. Maternal mortality, infant mortality and fertility rates are among if not the worst in the world. The primary focus of this study was on rice, cassava groundnut and vegetables mainly pepper and tomatoes value chains in Port Loko Districts, North-West region of Sierra Leone where most rural development organizations are working with farmers, especially women, growing the crops mentioned with the goal of improving the livelihood of rural communities through poverty reduction. The farm management survey (FMS) and socio-economic surveys (SES) methods were the structured research tool used in this study. Data was collected via interviews based on a structured questionnaire, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) which generated both quantitative and qualitative data. The study shows a lag in agricultural production which is caused by insufficient attention to agriculture coupled with the fact that crop production, especially crops investigated, is plagued by myriad of problems including; (i) unfavorable producer prices for most agriculture products, (ii) low crop yields, (iii) attack from pests like birds and rodents, (iv) low soil fertility, (v) high post-harvest losses, (vi) lack of inputs such as viable seeds, fertilizers and technical expertise; farmers are unaware of new varieties of viable seeds and fertilizers are very expensive and unaffordable to the local farmers, (viii) lack of credit for expansion, and (ix) inadequate access to food markets as a result of poor road infrastructure continue to be risks to food security. Furthermore, there is no governance structure and very weak market coordination, so farmers, especially female farmers, are left at the mercy of other key players (traders, store keepers, drivers and middlemen) in the value chain who actually determine prices of the produce. Perishable produce like raw pepper is often seen littering around the vicinities of Freetown and urban markets due to poor storage and preservation methods at the points of sales. The study shows that agricultural production of the crops mentioned above is carried out by 65% women above 40 years and 79% of these farmers are illiterate. The active labour force (18-28 years), which would have contributed meaningfully to increase agricultural productivity, relocates to urban cities in search of better livelihood. Hence escaped the hazards of repeated crop failure and unreliable marketing infrastructures and channels. To resuscitate and boost crop production in the study area the following recommendations were made; (i) improvement of the present rudimentary agricultural practices, (ii) Support to increased agricultural production and marketing potential through the rehabilitation and large scale cultivation of boli lands, uplands and inland valley swamps, rehabilitation of feeder roads linking farm to market and agricultural infrastructure, extension workers should be provided for farmers, (iii) Direct support to agricultural production through supply of high yield variety seeds and micro credits facilities to farmers (iv) Support to mechanization and (v) Management support (vi) gender equity in production and marketing.
"ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS LIMITING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY OF FEMALE FARMERS IN SIERRA LEONE (CASE STUDY OF PORT LOKO DISTRICT IN THE NORTH-WEST REGION", IJSDR - International Journal of Scientific Development and Research (www.IJSDR.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.9, Issue 5, page no.962 - 973, May-2024, Available :https://ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2405128.pdf
Volume 9
Issue 5,
May-2024
Pages : 962 - 973
Paper Reg. ID: IJSDR_211449
Published Paper Id: IJSDR2405128
Downloads: 000347468
Research Area: Science & Technology
Country: Freetown, Western Area, Sierra Leone
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11319997
ISSN: 2455-2631 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.15 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016
An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 9.15 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator
Publisher: IJSDR(IJ Publication) Janvi Wave
