General Information
· Main climates: Tropical Wet and Dry, Tropical Wet
· Total land area: 7 162 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 160 km3
· Incoming water flow: 0 km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 445
· Main food consumed: Rice, Oil & fat, Roots & tubers, Pulses, Wheat
· Rice supply, 1999: 148.7 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
RICE |
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
339.8 |
392.6 |
274.5 |
183.2 |
Yield (kg/ha) |
1265 |
1283 |
1295 |
1086 |
Production (T t) |
430.0 |
503.7 |
355.5 |
199.1 |
Imports (T t) |
92.19 |
123.7 |
243.2 |
NA |
Exports (t) |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
Population (T) |
3583 |
3994 |
4188 |
NA |
Agr population (T) |
2458 |
2694 |
2716 |
NA |
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
28 |
28 |
29 |
NA |
Fertilizer cons (t) |
3600 |
1300 |
3000 |
NA |
Agr tractors in use (units) |
470 |
200 |
100 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
Rice is planted in almost all regions. The following table shows the harvested areas from different producing zones.
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
North West |
21.72 |
Northern |
20.64 |
South West |
18.74 |
North Cent. |
16.80 |
Eastern |
11.93 |
Southern |
9.96 |
Western |
0.21 |
Rice is generally planted only during the rainy season.
Cropping season |
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
4-7 |
9-1 |
Production Practices
The following figure shows the harvested areas from different ecologies during the last five years. The tidal wetland (or mangrove) rice is dominant in the category of other ecologies.
Upland rice is grown as a mono-crop or as in a mixture with other food crops following the slash-and-burn shifting cultivation almost without any application of chemical fertilizer and other agro-chemical. Similarly, rice production in the rainfed lowland and the tidal wetland ecologies follows the traditional systems with low or no application of external input. Land preparation is done mainly manually using only hand hoe. Transplanting is the popular method of crop establishment. Weeding is generally done manually. Farmers do not have adequate appropriate tools and equipment for harvesting and threshing of rice. A number of rice varieties have been released for cultivation.
Variety Name |
Ecology |
Growth duration (days) |
ROK 24 |
Irrigated |
125-135 |
SUAKOKO 8 (ROK 24) |
Irrigated |
|
MASHURI |
Rainfed lowland |
125-130 |
ROK 10 |
Rainfed lowland |
140-150 |
ROK 12 |
Rainfed lowland |
140-150 |
ROK 14 |
Rainfed lowland |
130-135 |
ROK 17 |
Rainfed lowland |
130-135 |
ROK 22 |
Rainfed lowland |
125-135 |
ROK 4 |
Rainfed lowland |
130-145 |
ROK 6 |
Rainfed lowland |
140-150 |
ROHYB 4 |
Tidal wetland |
|
WAR 1 |
Tidal wetland |
|
WAR 81-2-1-2 |
Tidal wetland |
|
ROK 5 |
Tidal wetland |
130-145 |
CP 4 |
Tidal wetland |
175-200 |
63-83 |
Upland |
115-120 |
LAC 23 |
Upland |
|
LAC 23 |
Upland |
135-140 |
ROK 1 |
Upland |
130-135 |
ROK 2 |
Upland |
125-135 |
ROK 3 |
Upland |
140-145 |
ROK 7 |
Upland |
135-140 |
WAB 96-1-1 |
Upland |
|
The following table shows the results of the past studies on rice responses to fertilizer application.
Other information |
Test range (kg/ha) |
Control rate (kg/ha) |
Control yield (t/ha) |
Rate at Maximum yield (kg/ha) |
Maximum yield (t/ha) |
Nitrogen (N) |
|||||
Reported in 79, Bolilands, Rainfed lowland |
34-134 |
34 |
2.11 |
67 |
2.2 |
Reported in 79, Inland valley, Rainfed lowland |
34-134 |
34 |
2.47 |
0 |
2.47 |
Reported in 86, variety ROK 11, Rainfed lowland |
0-120 |
0 |
0.9 |
120 |
3 |
Reported in 63, Tidal wetland |
0-89.6 |
0 |
1.52 |
89.6 |
1.75 |
Reported in 81, Tidal wetland |
0-60 |
0 |
2.3 |
40 |
3.2 |
Reported in 86, variety Rohyb6 and WAR-6-2-8-2, Tidal wetland |
0-120 |
0 |
1.4 |
80 |
3 |
Reported in 86, variety ROK 10, Tidal wetland |
0-120 |
0 |
1 |
80 |
2.5 |
Reported in 76, 2nd year after clearing, Upland |
0-80 |
0 |
0.77 |
80 |
2.05 |
Reported in 76, 3rd year after clearing, Upland |
0-80 |
0 |
0.82 |
80 |
1.82 |
Reported in 76, first year after clearing, Upland |
0-80 |
0 |
1.26 |
80 |
2.04 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Sierra Leone. Following are the majors:
Dominant of upland shifting cultivation
Drought in upland areas and drought and flash flood in rainfed lowland (or inland swamp) and tidal wetland (or mangrove) areas due to irregular weather
Acidity and salinity in tidal wetland (or mangrove) areas
Inadequate and Irregular input supplies: seeds, fertilizer and credit
Lack of small farm equipment especially for post harvest operations
Poor maintenance of developed swamps
Poor drainage, Iron toxicity in undeveloped swamps
Lack of effective farmer organization and co-operative
Lack of a well-defined rice policy
Poor road networks and marketing systems
Weak research and extension support
Recently, the deterioration of security situation
The country is recovering from war. Sustainable rice production would greatly depend on the establishment of appropriate policy to provide support to farmers especially in-terms of input supply and output marketing. The development of lowland rice production with improved water supply and control would be essential.
Research and Development Institutes
· Direction-General, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Marine Resources, Youyi Building, Brookfields, Freetown, Tel.: (232) 22 242136/242128, Fax: (232) 22 242128
· Land and water Development Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Tower Hill, PMB 187 Freetown
· Magbosi Integrated Agricultural Development Project Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources P.O. Box 545 Freetown Telex: 3418
· Planning, Evaluation, Monitoring and Statistics Division (PEMSD), Youyi Building, Brookfields, Freetown, Tel.: (232) 22 242415/242143, Fax: (232) 22 242128
· Rice Research Station, Rokupr, PMB 736 Freetown, Sierra Leone, Tel.: (232) 22 22 32 82, Fax: (232) 22 22 21 79, Telex:3210 Booth SL
· Seed Multiplication Project Ministry of Agriculture & Natural Resources Private Mail Bag 231 11A, Old Railway, Brookfields Freetown Phone: (232) 2224-1960 Telex: 3418 PEMSV SL
· WARDA Mangrove Rice Network, c/o Rokupr Rice Res. Stat.