By Dadson A. Musa
At the farm site in Torma Bum on the 15th March 2024, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka flanked by the Paramount Chief, Kaipumoh, presidential adviser on Food Security and climate change, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, chief Agriculture Officer, Jalloh and other dignitaries in feed salone project launched the planting season. At a well-attended ceremony chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the agriculture ministry, E. E. Sorie where farmers and section chiefs in the Chiefdom were present. Mr. Sorie thanked the dignitaries for braving the rough road terrain to be present. ” We are serious about this feed Salone project this time and we cannot afford to fail,” he reiterated. On his part, the Paramount Chief of Bum chiefdom, Joseph Kiapumoh started off by thanking president Bio for bringing the project to his Chiefdom. ” Agriculture is time- bound therefore I call on government to make the needed finance available to those handling the project.” The P. C. called on the government to ” do the road from Koribondo to Torma Bum so that the feed Salone project can be effective and successful.” And went ahead to ask for the D.A.O. to be resident in Torma Bum where the farming is taking place.
The two project heads in Torma Bum; John Maada Paul Sinnah of Rice Agro-Industrial Cluster and Abdullai Bum Wai of Regional Rice Value Chain Project made statements regarding activities carried to ensure the feed Salone project succeeds. Registration of farmers has been done in Torma Bum, Mambolo and Samu Chiefdoms and they are going to install integrated rice mills; 2 in Torma Bum and 2 in Samu and Mambolo. Pavi Fort has been contracted to do the roads where the farming site is. To maximize rice production every farmer is going to be given 5 hectares of land to farm. The Regional Rice Value Chain is going to do 1000 hectares of rice farm this season. Irrigation is critical to the feed salone project as the ministry aims to plant rice three times in one year not once anymore. R.A.I.C under John Maada Paul Sinnah hopes to come up with for components; irrigation, rice processing cluster, capacity building of famers and Agro- processing component.
On his part, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella said they “as government intend to bring technology to maximize rice production and ensure the feed Salone project succeeds.” That they are ready to provide oversight, trouble – shoot and support the process. He however said that climate change issues tend to pose challenge to the project. In his keynote address, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security said, “to feed Salone, rice is the number one value chain and we are bringing back the glory days when we were exporting rice to other countries.”
The minister went ahead that 2200 hectares of farmland is going to be cultivated this year, 4000 hectares of irrigation to start this year also and repeated that timely planting is key. ” In this first full season of feed Salone we are going to launch credit facilities for farmers for up to $20 million to farmers.” And thanked the European Union for committing some amount to it and also providing insurance cover. Torma Bum is the biggest site as it is going to see 2200 hectares of rice farm by government, 5000 hectares by private sector and 3000 hectares of irrigation this year. The occasion was climaxed by the minister and entourage riding the ploughing machines themselves. Vote of thanks was given by Saffie Mambu.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Wednesday, March 20th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
