By Anthony Vandy
Agriculture in Sierra Leone is a significant part of the country’s economy. Data by Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) shows that two-third of the country’s population is involved in agriculture. Amidst this, vegetable farmers in the country, mostly in the Western Rural District are women; some widows and others single parents.
With all the development of growing vegetables there has been some challenges due to the current COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the world. The Sierra Leone Vegetable Farmers have been faced with challenges of sales stations, storage facilities, low sales etc. due to some of the rules set to eliminate the pandemic.
Women vegetable farmers and traders in Regent Village in the Western Rural District have expressed frustration over the fall in prices for their produce resulting in huge losses following the Government’s ban on periodic markets and placing movement restrictions in the country due to the CORONA pandemic.
Vegetable farmers and traders usually transport their goods to markets in the capital, Freetown, for sale to other traders and consumers. According to these farmers and traders, things have become different during the COVID-19 pandemic as sales are now very slow and profits very low.
Mariama Kietta, is the Deputy Women’s Leader for the National Federation of Farmers and the Coordinator for the Ogoo Farmers Association in the Western Rural District.
During a recent interview, she explained that due to the COVID-19 pandemic their livelihoods have been severely affected as they are faced with reduced access to markets and customers. Their Cooperative, she said, is made up of thirty groups with a total of 750 women across the country underscoring that vegetable farming and trading are their sole source of income to support themselves and their families.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, according to Mariama, “each group used to plant two to five acres of vegetables to produce cabbages, tomatoes, garden eggs, lettuces, onions, carrots, pepper, etc., with a turnover worth Le 7 million ($700), but that this has changed drastically as we have been discouraged to embark on large-scale farming because of lockdowns and ban on social gathering that limits our access markets.”
She disclosed that the prices of vegetables are now determined by traders and customers because they lack access to markets.
“A bag of cabbage which we use to sell at Le 700,000 ($70) is now Le 500,000 ($50) and we are forced to sell that way because we do not have storage facilities that can preserve these perishable commodities”, she stated.
Recalling the huge losses she and others incurred she said, “this is the worst time in the history of vegetable farming as our only source of livelihood has been ruined because of the ban on travel and social gathering”.
She explained that every week, they used to transport sixty tons of vegetables to markets in Freetown, but on one of the days they were about to do so, some authorities suddenly prevented them from travelling. “Our vegetables perished like nobody’s business by the time we were preparing to pay back a loan we took from a community bank,” she lamented.
The Small Holders Commercialization and Agribusiness Business Development Project (SCADeP) is a state institution set up to support local farmers.
Abraham Carl Samura is the Communications Person. In an interview on the 5th May, 2021, he said the organization is helping vegetable farmers by distributing seedlings to different villages and districts across the country to farmers who have been affected by the Corona pandemic. “We are aware of the challenges vegetable farmers are faced with during this pandemic, that’s why we are giving them support because if not, they will no longer farm or take care of their families,” Samura disclosed.
Talking to this medium on a site visit during an interview on May 4, 2021, Sylvanus Keha Koroma a farmer said that before now they were faced with the challenges of climate change, accessing advanced farming technologies, tools, seedlings and loans, storage facilities and a wider market. “COVID-19 has made things worse for us, especially the women. We were fighting to cope with our existing challenges as the pandemic did not only come with its own challenges but made things worse,” he added.
Sylvanus called on the Government and agribusiness institutions, including banks to work with vegetable farmers, especially women who are very committed to the trade and has been gravely affected by the CORONA pandemic. “The COVID pandemic has brought so many problems on vegetable farming and trading and yet no barter system has been involved with customers and fellow gardeners” he said.
This story was put together with a fellowship support from Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).
