By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Executive Director of Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency (SLESCA), Dr. Robert Chakanda has in an interview with Politico expressed the need for the government to discourage the importation of seed rice into the country.
Dr. Chakanda stated that the government has been importing seed rice from different countries, which he said was not sustainable. He stated that they have been investing huge finances into seed importation, but that the consignment always comes in late and the control system for quality was also poor.
‘’This has been happening every year since this government came into governance and President Julius Maada Bio decided that this is not sustainable. Sierra Leone will not depend on other countries to produce what is our staple food,’’ he said.
He pledged that they will ensure the government stops the importation of rice into the country. He added that the capacity to produce seed rice in the country is readily available.
Meanwhile, he said the government has not imported any seed rice into the country for this year. This he said was a promise he made to the government not to spend any amount on seed rice importation for 2022,or it will continue to be the normal trend in the country.
He noted that before the war, Sierra Leone had been controlling its seed rice through a Research Station at Rokupr in the northern part of the country. He added that during that time, government ensured farmers were not short of seeds. He said that it became difficult to control seed rice after the war because most farmers relocated from their towns and farms.
The SLESCA boss established that all the elements involved in ensuring the availability of quality food are in the country. He pointed out that, the only thing lacking is how to streamline the value chain, starting with research, down to the farmers that will be using the seed.
He said one of the key activities of SLESCA is to streamline each and every actor on what they do, and that the first thing they have done as an agency was to bring on board all seed companies that were not recognized or neglected by the government before. He said Sierra Leone can boast of huge fertile land and has the capacity to produce a huge number of seeds.
The Executive Director pointed out that, for government to stop the importation of rice, they need to bring onboard farmers that have been neglected or not doing business with directly. He mentioned Genesis as one of the farms that folded up operations due to lack of recognition, noting that they have been ignoring them and purchasing rice outside of the country.
‘’We have decided to bring them on board since they have the huge capacity to produce because they already have the land,’’ he said.
He highlighted that, there are good international seed companies together with the local seed companies, like Jamjay that are making huge efforts to increase food sufficiency in the country. He claimed that after bringing onboard those companies, they produced 8 times more than what the government imported last year.
Dr. Chakanda noted that the government has decided to withdraw from all agricultural activities in the country and hand them over to the private sector.
‘’That is why we are encouraging the private sector and bringing them on board,’’ he said.
He said 250 seed vendors applied last year, but they realized that not all of them have knowledge of seed activities, saying that seed is a scientific commodity that will only be run by a very serious vendor. He stated that there are seed vendors who always win contracts without having any knowledge of seed rice and ended up purchasing it without the required standard and quality.
‘’We have set up criteria that match up with the West African standard, wherein every seed vendor should meet with them before being registered as a seed vendor in the country,’’ he said.
He explained that international companies will not bring seed rice they think will not fit into the country’s land system. He said, if they do, farmers will not even purchase them which will lead to the loss of huge amounts of money in their business.
‘’We have set up the stage wherein whatever seed the farmers will be using is what fits into the soil of the country,’’ he said.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (27/06/22)
