Agricultural sector badly hit by conflict

An FAO crop assessment mission to the southwest, southern and eastern regions of Sierra Leone in December 1999 found that the agricultural sector had been extensively disrupted by war. Over the years, farmers have lost all their productive resources including seeds, tools and other capital assets. There has been large scale destruction of infrastructure and rural institutions, GIEWS said. As most rural farm families were displaced, availability of labour for planting and harvesting remains a major constraint and the farmers' capacity to retain stocks is low due to financial difficulties and the fear of looting. Nearly all farmers are dependent on government and NGOs for the supply of seeds and the planting of these seeds is dependent upon the capacity of these agencies to help them.