We have enough fertile land to grow enough food.

We have Fertile Land to Produce Sufficient Food

President Bio tells farmers in Kabala on World Food Day

By Joseph S. Margai, Strategic Communications Coordinator

President Julius Maada Bio has, on Sunday, October 16, 2022, told farmers and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector that the country has enough fertile land which should be utilized to enhance food security.

President Bio, who was speaking at the World Food Day celebration in Kabala mini stadium, said there was an urgent need for private sector participation in agriculture because an inclusive approach will boost food production.

The event was not just a show of what various districts within the country are capable of producing, but a commitment that we can feed ourselves with what we cultivate. 

Crops that are only unique to certain districts within Sierra Leone were on display during the event. There were various farming groups whose foodstuffs were also on display.

These farming groups were busy marketing their products to the people that were visiting their stalls. Well, the farming groups did not only market foodstuffs but also machineries and other agricultural tools that they manufactured.  

The World Food Day event was greeted with unique cultural performances, indicating that when food is in abundance, even the masqueraders will celebrate. 

The drummers, dancers and singers, were on top of their game. But as soon as the president began to talk, the once noisy atmosphere was quietened. 

Keen attention was given to the man (President Bio) who has been nicknamed the champion of Sierra Leone’s food security. 

“Under my government, there are more lands now under cultivation than it used to be in previous regimes. This is because we have been encouraging people to embark on agriculture. Locally produced foodstuff boosts our school feeding program under the Free Quality Education Program,” he said.

According to the president, agriculture is the way out to alleviating poverty, while calling on everyone to embrace farming. 

“If we don’t embark on farming, when the global supply chain is affected, we will also suffer. As a leader, I have taken the lead in cultivating everything that my household eats. I have my own farm where I cultivate vegetables, rice, cocoa and coffee, among many other crops,” he said.   

He told the farmers that some of the foodstuffs that we are importing would have been cultivating by us, adding that we should grow what we eat so as to reduce the rising cost of foodstuff in the country.  

President Bio said we would never have to purchase foodstuffs at expensive prices if we were cultivating what we are consuming, thereby urging everyone to go back to the farm.  

“We should never allow foreign countries to produce and package their own foodstuffs and we later determine the price that they should sell them to us. That is impossible, they also spend lot of money to process what they export to us. That is why I am encouraging all of you to go back to the farm,” he said. 

He told the people that when they will elect him for the second term, he will ensure that the country produce food that will be enough to feed the population.

Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, told the crowd that since COVID-19 struck the country, there had never been a report of shortage of food because of the serious leadership portrayed by President Bio.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abubakarr Karim, stated that since President Bio came to power, he had told all his appointees to embark on agriculture, disclosing that most of them are now practical farmers. 

“This is the only way to reduce the overdependence on imported foodstuffs and control the rising prices,” he said.