By: Mamajah Jalloh
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, has joined fellow African ministers, researchers and development partners in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for the 34th Ordinary Session of the AfricaRice Council of Ministers, running from 4 to 6 November 2026.
The three-day high-level meeting is focused on accelerating rice production across Africa, strengthening agricultural research and innovation, and making locally produced rice more competitive and commercially viable.
Sierra Leone’s participation builds on its partnership with AfricaRice, a leading pan-African agricultural research institution and member of the CGIAR network, which collaborates with 28 African countries to advance rice research and development.
The partnership has contributed to the development of improved rice varieties, including ROK 42 and ROK 43, which were officially released by President Julius Maada Bio in October 2025 in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI).
The meeting comes as Sierra Leone continues to record progress under the Feed Salone initiative, with rice self-sufficiency increasing from 68 per cent in 2023 to 73 per cent in 2025. Maintaining this progress will require sustained investment in quality seeds, agricultural research, improved farming technologies and market development.
Speaking at the session, Minister Kpaka emphasised that Africa’s challenge goes beyond developing improved rice varieties and agricultural technologies. He stressed the need to ensure that these innovations reach farmers and translate into increased productivity.
Drawing on Sierra Leone’s experience under Feed Salone, he highlighted ongoing efforts to make newly released rice varieties accessible to farmers to improve local production.
The Minister also raised concerns about the competitiveness of African rice producers, noting that local farmers must compete with imported rice from countries that have benefited from sustained agricultural support. He stressed that efforts to increase yields must be accompanied by policies that protect and strengthen domestic production while responding to consumer preferences.
He called for greater urgency in translating agricultural research into practical results on farms and creating an enabling environment for locally produced rice to compete effectively in domestic and international markets.
Dr. Kpaka’s participation provides an opportunity to deepen Sierra Leone’s collaboration with AfricaRice, particularly in scaling up improved rice varieties, expanding seed production, strengthening research capacity and improving farmers’ access to proven agricultural technologies.
The participation of SLARI further reinforces the connection between regional agricultural research and Sierra Leone’s national development priorities.
The engagement aligns with the Government’s ambition under Feed Salone to achieve greater rice self-sufficiency, reduce dependence on imports and build a more productive, resilient and competitive rice industry.