June 14, 2021
BY MOHAMED M. SESAY
In a bid to enhance food sufficiency in the country, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has on Friday the 11th of April, launched a fifty-four million United States Dollars regional value rice chain development project at Torma Bum Village, Bum Chiefdom, Bonthe District. The project targets estimated beneficiaries of seven thousand (7000).
The overall goal of the value rice chain project is to support smallholder farmers to be organized into productive entities to increase their income, reduce poverty and tackle food insecurity as well as improve the livelihoods of rural population.
The objective of the recently launched Torma Bum regional project is to contribute to the reduction of high rate of rice importation and enhance economic growth through an improved production, processing and marketing as well as enhancing private sector participation in the sector.
Putting more emphasis on food security in the country, President Bio re-echoed that food security is a central pillar of the country`s Human Capital Development priorities especially when nourished child or even adult can stay healthy, live a good life and learn how to fight for survival.
He added that his New Direction Administration came into governance with the platform of improving on food security more especially when prices of staple food, rice. This aspiration has been of essence owing to the fact that rice has not been stable at the world market to have heightened food insecurity in the country over the years.
“Instead of short-term populist actions and granting non-massive input subsidies at the detriment of the economy, or pronouncing an overnight reduction in the price of a bag of rice for political propaganda purposes, we decided to think very closely of a permanent fix of food insecurity”, said Bio.
President Bio further acknowledged that the country does not produce sufficient food for the nation’s population and government has been spending hundreds of million dollars every year in order to procure food from the world market.
He also noted that a huge chunk of the country’s foreign reserve that could be spent on education and Healthcare among other urgent government priorities has been spent on the importation of rice.
He also reaffirmed that the Regional Value chain rice project is not only meant for Bonthe Chiefdom but also for Samu and Mambolo in the Kambia District.
He added that there is another thirty million dollars from the Indian Bank which will be used for the food project in Torma Bum, and another thirty million dollars from the African Development Bank will be also translated in the massive rice production at Torma Bum Chiefdom. He reiterated the fact the project will in time be upscaled for export.
He encouraged the private sector to be very supportive in the implementation of the project adding that, the current minister of Agriculture has shown a special interest in the project.
The president noted that he wants to leave a legacy wherein, when his government would have left power there should be sufficient rice in the market at an affordable price.
He also encouraged the people to invest in other plantation farming such as cocoa farm, coffee, kola and other cash crops for financial gains.
“We need to take farming very seriously because there is money in farming”. He concluded.
On his part, the Vice President who was also the chairman for the Launch of this project Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh also reaffirmed that the effort is going to serve as a boost to the school feeding project as well as improve food security for the country at large.
He added that the food production will also have a positive impact on Maternal and child health as according to him, a well fed pregnant woman will surely give birth to a healthy baby. The Vice president stressed that access means having food at a cheaper price, assuring that cheap food will also ensure cheap labour that has the propensity of attracting foreign direct investment.
Dr. Jalloh argued that considering the attendant benefit, president made no mistake in making agriculture a top priority in his New Direction Agenda.