Agriculture in Sierra Leone is a significant part of the

economy of Sierra Leone The economy of Sierra Leone is $4.082 billion by gross domestic product as of 2018. German Foreign OfficeCountry Information Sierra Leone - EconomyPartly citing the ''Economist Intelligence Unit''. Retrieved 2010-03-24. Since the end of the Sier ...

, with it accounting for 58 percent national

Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) in 2007. Two-thirds of the population of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

are involved in

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

. The agricultural sector grew by about 14 percent in 2007, led by crops, and five percent in 2008. Despite this growth the country is a net importer of food; for example, in 2004 19,000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s of rice was imported.

Economic value

Agriculture accounts for more than half of Sierra Leone's GDP, 58.5% in 2007. It is the largest employer, with 80 percent of the population working in the sector and two thirds of the population involved in

. In 2007 the sector grew by 14 percent, led by crops and by five percent in 2008. Sierra Leone is not self-sufficient in food. Food is one of Sierra Leone's biggest imports. Agricultural exports in 2006 accounted for 4 percent of total exports worth more than six million

US dollars The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from Dollar, other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American ...

with

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

being the biggest export, accounting for more than 5 million US dollars of this.

Agricultural products

Rice

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

is the most important staple crop in Sierra Leone with 85 percent of farmers cultivating rice during the rainy season and an annual consumption of 76 kg per person. In 2004 an area of was cultivated for rice producing an annual yield of 265,000 t. Rice is grown in three different ecologies,

mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fre ...

rice, upland rice and

deepwater rice Deepwater rice are varieties of rice (''Oryza sativa'') grown in flooded conditions with water more than deep for at least a month.Catling, p. 2. More than people in Southeast Asia including Northeastern India rely on deepwater rice for their s ...

. With around of land in deepwater rice cultivation Sierra Leone is the main area for

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

deepwater rice.

Cassava

The second staple food grown across the country is

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

with an annual yield of 350,000t in 2006. The main areas of production are in the south-west, central and far north. The main problems with

cultivation include disease and pests. Major diseases are the cassava mosaic disease and cassava bacterial blight, which have the greatest economic impact, cassava brown leaf spot, cassava anthracnose, and white thread fungus.

Other major food crops

Other major annual

food crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

s include

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

and groundnut.

Plantation cash crops

The main tree crop is the

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its co ...

, used for its

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

fruit, that can be processed into

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

and sap which is turned into palm wine. The other main perennial crops are

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

, and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

Livestock

Common livestock in Sierra Leone are

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

s and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

. The

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

seriously depleted the level of livestock in the country, although numbers have recovered since the end of the war in 2002. Most cattle are of the

trypanotolerant A trypanotolerant organism is one which is relatively less affected by trypanosome infestation. By host In humans In livestock Some breeds are known for their trypanotolerance. This is especially important in Africa where a few particular try ...

N'Dama breed and problem diseases include contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. Cattle are found in the north of the country and farming is dominated by the Fula ethnic group who own the majority of cattle in the country and often manage cattle owned by other groups. Poultry farming consists mainly of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s, with some guinea fowl and

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United Sta ...

s. Sheep are found across the whole of the country and are of the dwarf Djallonke breed. Goats are of the West African Dwarf breed. They are found all over the country but 60 percent live in the Northern Province. The breeds of sheep and goats are hardy, able to survive the rigorous environment and are resistant to the

trypanosomiasis Trypanosomiasis or trypanosomosis is the name of several diseases in vertebrates caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus ''Trypanosoma''. In humans this includes African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. A number of other diseas ...

disease. The West African Dwarf goats can survive on grazing alone all year, even in the dry season, without the need for additional feed. Diseases that effect the sheep and goats include foot rot, internal parasites and

heartwater Heartwater (also known as cowdriosis, nintas, and ehrlichiosis) is a tick-borne rickettsial disease. The name is derived from the fact that fluid can collect around the heart or in the lungs of infected animals. It is caused by ''Ehrlichia rumin ...

Governance

Agricultural development is a priority for the

Government of Sierra Leone The government of Sierra Leone is the governing authority of the Republic of Sierra Leone, as established by the Sierra Leone Constitution. The Sierra Leone government is divided into three branches: the Executive branch, executive, legislative an ...

and falls under the remit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security. On 22 September 2009 Sierra Leone signed the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) compact, agreeing to raise the percentage of the budget spent and agriculture to 10 percent. In 2007 the percentage of the budget spent on agriculture was 1.7 percent but this had increased to 9.9 percent in 2010.

References

External links

{{Africa in topic, Agriculture in Economy of Sierra Leone