The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security Dr. Abu Bakarr Karim and the Ambassador of Sierra Leone to the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina have, both participated at the ‘Vietnam-Africa Agriculture Cooperation’ held in Vietnam aimed at enhancing Connectivity and Ensuring Sustainable Development.
The audio-visual conference came about as a result of a similar one recently held by the Vietnamese Vice Foreign Affairs Minister in which thirty-one Ambassadors resident in Beijing participated including Ambassador Ndomahina who thoroughly marketed the Country’s Agricultural potentials. In that presentation, the attention of the Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister was captured and requested for a special conference between him (Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister) and Ambassador Ndomahina with the participation of Sierra Leone’s Agricultural Minister, Dr. Abu Bakarr Karim who delivered the key note address:
In his key note address, Sierra Leone Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Dr. Karim noted that Agriculture has been a traditional field of cooperation between Vietnam and Africa since the 1980s through various forms. He stated that the New Direction Government under the leadership of President Dr. Julius Maada Bio is working assiduously to upsurge rice production in the Country. Adding that investment opportunities are accessible as the Government has created the enabling environment.
The Minister went on to say that the ability and specialization of Vietnam in the production and rapid development in the rice sector thereby becoming one of the leading exporters of rice globally is a lesson rice producing Countries in Africa must emulate. He continued that his Ministry in 2019 started a policy shift in agriculture aimed at maximizing subsides and service delivery for farmers in order to enable them increase the productivity of rice which is the country’s staple food. The objective of the policy shift he went on, is to make farming attractive, profitable and supportive to private sector investment in Agriculture value chain, thereby ensuring farmers have access to affordable farming tools and mechanization services as well as improve access to agricultural financing through a marching grant.
The Minister furthered that his Ministry has put in place the necessary institutional arrangement and legislature to support private sector investment in the agricultural sector. ‘I have created the Fertilizer Regulatory and Seed Certification Agencies’, Dr. Abu Bakarr Karim disclosed. Both agencies are geared towards ensuring good fertilizer and seeds production in Sierra Leone, he added.
The Agricultural Minister also disclosed that a new body has been created to champion and promote private sector investment. This body, he went on is chaired by no less a person than His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and Co-Chaired by his Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh. The establishment of this unit is meant to serve as a one stop shop for the ease of doing business in Sierra Leone.
He mentioned that Sierra Leone can basically benefit from Vietnam’s key development models, a Country that has rapidly moved from being a post-war fragile and food importation State into now toping twenty-five global economies with a fifteenth position as rice exporter in the past 30 years.
To this end the Minister expressed that Sierra Leone is endowed with natural resources not just minerals and over 5,000,000 hectares of arable land of which 85% remain uncultivated.
He continued that properly organizing the agricultural sector of Sierra Leone is critically important and the sector has already provided 60% of the Country’s GDP and half of the population is believed to be engaging in some form of agricultural activity but 90% of the production is still subsistent farming.
Dr. Abu Bakarr observed that as global food price set to double in the next 20 to 30 years Sierra Leone stands to be a major Agro power house in the 21st century and that the Government of President Dr. Julius Maada Bio is determined to creating a modern agro business sector starting with large scale commercial rice farming, fisheries and key cash crops including forestry and livestock.
He pointed out that Sierra Leone is seeking partners with whom it can invest in creating modern diverse economy, adding that the Government is currently working with a German Vietnamese investor in seed production in the country.
He ended that Sierra Leone is prepared, ready and determined to offer arable land to any credible investor wishing to invest in any agricultural value chain, assuring that there are policies and laws in place to protect investors.
Brima Dawson Kuyateh
Press Attaché
Sierra Leone Embassy In Beijing, China
