Supporting women farmers to increase production and value for better price
Women constitute the greater percentage of labour force in the Sierra Leone’s agricultural sector, and most of them are household heads, engaged in peasant farming to sustain the lives of their dependents. The practice of Agriculture for business is one that remains unachievable, among other things, due to the lack of capital to embark on large scale or mechanized farming, lack of quality input and processing equipment.
These many challenges faced by women farmers in Sierra Leone was heightened by the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease, which spanned from July 2014 to March 2016. The Ebola outbreak disrupted farming activities and depleted the income of farmers in Sierra Leone.
The Takelene Women Farmers’ Cooperative, was one of the groups that was hardly hit by the Ebola disease outbreak. The group is based in the Rokupr Town in Kambia District, Northern Sierra Leone, and it comprises 120 (one hundred and twenty) members.
Sooner before the spread of the Ebola virus, the women cultivated ten hectares of cassava, three hectares of groundnut and eight hectares of Inland Valley Swamp rice. The restriction on movements and group activities prevented the cooperative from undertaking farm management activities such as weeding and pest control. In addition, the group lost four members and other relatives to the Ebola disease, which resulted to poor yield, and the inability of its members and debtors to refund their loans.
The desire for rice hauling machine was among the paramount needs of the cooperative. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United (FAO) donated one machine during the construction of the Agriculture Business Centres (ABCs) in the country in 2010, as part of the post-war rehabilitation packages, but is no longer enough to serve over seven communities in the surrounding.
FAO in partnership with Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), on Tuesday, 11 July 2017 donated two rice hauling machines with full set spare parts to the Takelene Women Farmers’ Cooperative. The support is from the Telefood Special Fund (TSF), which aims to increase their production, value addition and marketing of agricultural products.
The purpose of the TSF is to finance concrete grassroots-level projects to assist poor families in developing countries and countries in transition to improve their means of production, thus enabling them to produce more food and to generate income, thereby allowing them better access to food.
The donation ceremony was overwhelmingly attended by farming groups, local authorities and other stakeholders in the Magbema Chiefdom and its environs, most of whom have been longing to have more rice hauling machines to reduce the burden incurred because of the lack of adequate machines in the community.
Delivering the machines to the Takelene Women Farmers’ Cooperative, the Project Officer, Marie Deen-Nyarkoh told the gathering that FAO recognises the crucial role of women in the country’s agriculture sector, which is why the Organization, through Technical Corporation Programme (TCP) funded project Promoting Effective Engagement in Agribusiness for Women’s Cooperatives, has been very supportive to enhance their capacity to produce and make agriculture a profitable business.
“We have brought these rice hauling machines for you today to reduce the burden that you used to bear in trying to mill your rice and add value to your produce”, she stated.
Receiving the machines on behalf of the cooperative, the Chairlady of the Takelene Women Farmers’ Cooperative, Isatu Sesay expressed profound gratitude to FAO for providing “the most needed” equipment for them.
She emphasised the timeliness of the donation and acknowledged that the machines were delivered in a very short notice. “FAO sent us a promissory note, but before we could open the note to read its content, the Organization had fulfilled its promise”, she eulogised.
Isatu Sesay recounted that the operators at the milling centre used to be overwhelmed with customers, especially during the harvest period. “Most times customers queued for long hours and some even stored their husk rice at the centre for days before we provided service to them.”
Her statement was confirmed by Abibatu Sesay, a farmer from Marthantu Village, who lamented that they sometimes spent some nights in Rokupr Town whenever they came with husk rice for milling because of the number clients that visited the centre. Marthantu is seven miles away from Rokupr and the only means of transportation for its inhabitants is by boat.
According to the Chairlady of Takelene Women Farmers’ Cooperative, the longer hours of operation, in order to cope with the demand of their clients, most times wrecked the only machine they had and caused more financial burden on the cooperative.
The District Agriculture Officer of Kambia, expressed appreciation to FAO for donating the machines to the group. He commended the cooperative for being very much instrumental in raising the district’s agricultural profile.
The project will provide basic value addition trainings for the cooperative on processing, packaging, marketing, and the use and management of the machines. The machines will be installed in stores that will be constructed by the cooperative in two locations that will be easily accessible to its clients. After the rains, the project will support the development of five hectares Inland Valley Swamp to enable year round cultivation.
In terms of sustainability, the women farmers will be required to pay minimal fees for hauling and packaging of their rice produce which will be saved into the cooperative account to help in the future to cover cost of running and maintenance of the rice haulers.
Contact:
Keifa Jaward
Communication Consultant, FAO Sierra Leone