Magburaka farmers in the Tonkolili District have said that the lack of stores and drying floors within the district will seriously affect their three thousand bushels of rice cultivated for this year.
According to one of the leading master farmers in the district Mohamed Tikay Conteh “the lack of drying floors and stores had serious setback on local farmers as most of their produce was disfigured in the farms before reaching the markets.”
After visiting his farm Tikay Conteh expressed concern over inadequate storage facilities and drying floor which he said, has the tendency to reduce the quality of grains after harvest.
He also said that, if farmers do not have adequate storage and drying floors, it is likely for traders to buy the farm before harvest as a result most of the farmers would not realize much for their hard work in the fields.
Tikay Conteh added that his organization the Magburaka Development Organization cultivated (1,250) one thousand two hundred and fifty acres of rice in the district, but there is fear in the minds of farmers over the lack of storage and drying floors for their produce.
He noted that the only store in the district was the one constructed by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) in 2004. However, he said that the store is currently in a deplorable state and the drying floor besides it has been over grown with grass.
He further explained that most of the farmers who took Government loans in the area could not afford to pay back to the seed bank because most of the seasons harvest is used to upkeep their homes.
The master farmer also said that Freetown based traders are in the habit of sending money to the farms before harvest on the pretext that during harvest the farmers will pay back in large quantum of produce.
Transportation of produce to major towns within the district is also another problem. He said “most of the farmers do not have vehicles of their own and commercial drivers ply remotes parts of Magburaka only on a week to week basis due to the terrible road network.”
He said some of the farmers are forced to take their own produce to Makeni because they lack the proper market structures in Magburaka.
Tikay Conteh warned that if the Government fails to support farmers with the necessary logistics and expertise to transform subsistent farming to mechanized farming they would not achieve the food security dream he said.
He also appealed to the Government and relevant NGO’s in the Agriculture sector to support Magburaka farmers with drying floors and stores that will be located at potential farms within the district to enable them pay back to the seed bank and also have surpluses.
On the question of availability of tractors and power tillers the master farmer said his organization has a membership of over (700) members located at respective towns and villages in Magburaka, many cannot afford to hire the tractors, but rely heavily on communal labour.
Concluding the master farmer called on both the Tonkolili Council and International Non Governmental Organizations like Action Aid to support farmers with new varieties and also build the capacity of farmers to embark on mechanized farming.
By Saidu Bah