Turning local crops into local opportunity in Sierra Leone: HELZEE Farms scales sustainable agribusiness through FAO HASTEN
©Helzee Farms / Muzambiringa / FAO Sierra Leone
In a region facing food insecurity, youth unemployment and mounting climate pressures, Helzee Farms is showing how its community-centered, integrated and circular approach to agrifood systems transformation can unlock opportunity. By transforming cassava, rice and palm kernels into a diverse range of products in high demand locally, the enterprise is strengthening rural livelihoods while promoting climate-smart, organic agriculture in Sierra Leone.
Founded in 2022 in Kailahun District, Sierra Leone, by Mohamed Kawa, Helzee Farms began as a self-empowerment initiative following job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the outset, the enterprise focused on organic production, local processing and strong community engagement, responding to persistent challenges, including post-harvest losses and declining soil fertility. Over time, Helzee Farms has developed into an integrated agribusiness spanning production, processing and marketing, supplying locally branded food products like Kailahun Gari (cassava-based staple food), and eco-friendly soaps and cosmetics to both rural and urban markets.
As part of its development journey, the enterprise participated in the FAO HASTEN (Harnessing SDG-based Agrifood System Transformation through the Empowerment of the Next Generation of Agrifood Leadership in Africa) business incubation programme, which provided targeted technical and mentoring support to early stage, youth- and women-led micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), to equip agripreneurs with practical tools to strengthen their business models, plan for growth and embed the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the core of their operations.
Helzee Farms, with its integrated operations spanning production, processing and marketing, and a strong focus on sustainability, youth employment and women’s empowerment, demonstrates how youth-led agribusinesses can contribute to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
Building a sustainable business model through HASTEN
Helzee Farms participated in the HASTEN business incubation programme held in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Over a four-day intensive workshop, delivered by FAO in partnership with SEED, it refined its value proposition, clarified target markets and customers and identified pathways to scale through stronger partnerships across the value chain. Reflecting on this process, Mohamed Kawa noted, “The mentorship helped us see our business through the eyes of an investor, not just a community implementer.”
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©Helzee Farms
Dedicated sessions on impact planning helped the enterprise map its activities and outcomes across the SDGs, translating ambition into measurable environmental, social and economic results.
The support provided through HASTEN reinforced Helzee Farms’ integrated agribusiness approach: Primarily working with smallholder farmers, women, and youth in Kailahun District and beyond, the enterprise focuses on waste reduction and value addition, through processing cassava into Kailahun Gari and fufu flour, palm kernels into oil and cosmetics, and spices and groundnuts into groundnut paste.
The enterprise’s impact extends well beyond production. Helzee Farms promotes organic and climate-smart practices, limits chemical use and actively contributes to environmental restoration through tree planting. To date, Helzee Farms has planted more than 20 000 trees on degraded land. Additionally, agricultural by-products are used to make briquettes as a replacement for charcoal and firewood, contributing to lower emissions and reduced deforestation.
At the same time, Helzee Farms addresses rural poverty and youth unemployment through job creation, training and inclusive market participation. Since 2022, the enterprise has created more than 200 seasonal jobs for rural youth and established three women’s groups comprising 1 000 women, benefiting from skills development, market linkages and income-generating activities.
To track this impact, Helzee Farms now uses the HASTEN SDG impact monitoring dashboard, so that it can verify and credibly measure its contributions across the SDGs, which include:
This impact planning and mapping has also sharpened how Helzee Farms communicates its value. As Mohamed explained, “We realized that our impact is strong, but we need to explain more clearly how we grow sustainably without overstretching.”
This impact data is collected through field visits, beneficiary reports and sales analysis and is reviewed regularly, allowing the enterprise to adapt and improve while demonstrating accountability to partners and customers.
Looking ahead
The FAO HASTEN business incubation programme was complemented by tailored one-in-one mentoring, with targeted guidance on financing readiness, operational planning and growth scenarios. “Breaking down our scale-up goals into phases made the expansion feel more realistic and achievable,” Mohamed reflected.
With demand for locally processed, sustainable products continuing to grow, Helzee Farms is now focused on scaling its operations. The enterprise aims to increase participating farmers’ incomes by at least 30 percent by the end of the year, through increasing its production capacity and expanding its portfolio of sustainable products, with three new products in the pipeline for launch. Additionally, it aims to provide training to up to 500 youth and women in organic farming techniques and value-added processing methods by 2027 and plant up to 70 000 trees on degraded lands.
The foundations laid through the FAO HASTEN business incubation programme have positioned the enterprise to grow in a way that remains environmentally responsible, socially inclusive and economically viable.
More about HASTEN: HASTEN is an FAO initiative funded through the Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC) and operating in Lesotho, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. It aims to foster and generate transformational changes in people, processes and markets by strengthening capacities among the next generation of leaders in sustainable agrifood systems transformations in Africa.
