1,000 hectares of swamps for food production

The Ministry of Agriculture has announced the rehabilitation of 1,000 hectares of Inland Valley Swamps (IVS). According to a newsfeed from the ministry, it will include vegetable and livestock production closer to the cultivated swamp. It will use “highly trained youth contractors” The trained youth contractors will subsequently become private “irrigation engineers” and will be offering swamp development/irrigation services to farmers or farmer’s groups within the country. The project which is funded by the Government of Sierra Leone and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) under the Diversified Food Production Project (DFPP), covers Bombali, Tonkolili and Bo Districts. Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Joseph Sam Sesay visited all three districts recently to inspect the selected swamps and educate beneficiary communities on the need to judiciously utilise complimentary inputs like rice mills, grain stores, drying floor, seedlings and fertilisers. (C) Politico 05/09/13