Connecting-Africa | Find publications

Advanced search

Find:


Title A Study on Rice Production in Sierra Leone: Investigating Constraints
Full text https://nadre.ethernet.edu.et/record/8408
Date 2002
Author(s) Bangura, Sheka
Abstract Rice is the staple food of Sierra Leone with no close substitute. The crop accounts for the largest share of the agricultural GDP of the country. However, its production has been declining over the past two decades. Sierra Leone was once an exporter of rice until 1953; thereafter importation assumed the main source of supplying the grain for domestic consumption as production could no longer meet local demand. Decline in the domestic production of the crop has had severed sosio-economic implications ranging from hiking consumer prices to balance of payment problems and debt burden. The country is reported with huge potential for increased agricultural productivity but the situation has rather been let to degenerate to a state where she has to depend on international market and aid for the supply of her staple food. The objective of this study is therefore to investigate the constraints underlying the decline in the crop's production in Sierra Leone. The trends behind the decline are explored with the aim of explaining the factors that emerge therein. The tools employed for analyzing the problem involved a thorough descriptive statistical analysis, coefficients of protection analysis (using nominal protection coefficient), and a supply response analysis using a time series regression framework (for the period 1964-1998) within the context of the Nerlovian supply response approach. Major constraints found negatively impacting on output of the grain are such as price disincentives to farmers (though with low response); the coefficient of public investment is negative, suggesting inter alia that concentration of public expenditure on providing social infrastructure that are limited to urban areas serves to attract rural labour; there is problem of disproportionate attention on traditional upland farming system which is less productive compared to lowlands; the macroeconomic environment has not been conducive; market institutions were weak (a problem that is aggravated by infrastructural bottlenecks); modern farming implements and fertilizers were in low use; rice technological approach did not seem to be appropriate; these are some of the constraints highlighted among the lot in this study. Recommendations are made toward the findings.
Relation isbn:978-963-313-151-0; doi:10.20372/nadre/8407; url:https://nadre.ethernet.edu.et/communities/aau; url:https://nadre.ethernet.edu.et/communities/nadre
Type of publication info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis; publication-thesis
Rights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess; http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-by
Identifier 10.20372/nadre/8408
Repository Addis Ababa - Repository of Ethiopia
Added to C-A: 2022-12-19;08:39:21