Farmers in Sierra Leone will benefit from an upcoming programme called the Butternut squash program which will enable them receive a projected income of $5,000 for an hectare. Kabia Farm has secured an international market as they have signed an agreement with a Spanish company based in Senegal which it says will definitely take some of the country’s farmers out of poverty and make their farms become more sustainable.
The Butternut squash which is similar to pumpkin is consumed mostly in the West and Southern America and can be stored for up to six months. According to the Farm’s CEO, Chernor Kabia it is hoped that after COVID-19 they will start with the planting and the export will follow. “We have brought in some samples which was tested across the country and we have a 100% result, so it is easy to grow. So we believe with our butternut squash program it will help move a lot of farmers out of poverty” he said.
The farmers he said are growing for an international market and as they grow the Kabia Farm buys from them and exports. Recently, Kabia said one of the company they signed an agreement with in Senegal has requested for two container carrots. “We have the seeds and now we are trying to get a group of farmers who are interested in growing carrot and make more money.” The farmers he said are yet to get them as some are scared of growing carrots because of the market, he hoped that within the next three or four months they will get farmers who will be able to grow the required quantity.
“People think farming is a poor man’s job, we want to change the narrative, that is why we want to give the opportunity to Sierra Leoneans because we have 4.5 million hectares of arable land. The potential agriculture has in this country is more than any sector, we want to make that dream a reality” he yearned. The country he said cannot boast of a Sierra Leonean that owns a company which employs over 1,000 people but they believe that with farming it is possible and that the agricultural sector alone can take Sierra Leone out of poverty.
Butternut squash, sometimes known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin or gramma, is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has a tan-yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp with a compartment of seeds in the blossom end. Roasted butternut squash is a delicious side dish, but it’s also excellent in soups, pasta and more. ZIJ/17/08/2020
By Zainab Iyamide Joaque