General Description and Economics
The Republic of Sierra Leone is a Sub-Saharan Africa country, with 402 km of coastline on the western edge (GraphicMaps). The country shares borders with Guinea to the northeast and Liberia to the southeast (Sawe, 2017). The area has been occupied for nearly 2,500 years by coastal tribes, and in the late 18th century the “Province of Freedom” was founded which was a settlement for freed slaves (“Sierra Leone”). As of 2015, Sierra Leone had a population of 7,092,113, with 59% of the population living in rural areas (“2015 Population and Housing Census”).
Those living in rural areas are almost three times more unlikely to be educated, with 32.7% of the rural population never attending school (“2015 Population and Housing Census”). Many developing countries have a broad based population pyramid. Sierra Leone is no different and has a young population. Almost 41% of the population is below the age of fifteen years and only 3.5% of the population is over the age of sixty-five, the working age accounts for 55.6% of the population (“2015 Population and Housing Census”).
Almost 30% of the population over the age of ten is in a polygamous marriage and only 13% is in a monogamous marriage (“2015 Population and Housing Census”). Women of Sierra Leone do not have life easy. They are eight times more likely to be widowed than men and have a total fertility rate of 5.2 children (“2015 Population and Housing Census”). While this seems high to those in developed countries, the number has fallen from 6.1 children in 2004 (“2015 Population and Housing Census”). Sierra Leone is divided into the Eastern Region, Northern Region, Southern Region, and Western Area. The Northern Region has cities with large populations, especially Bombali and Port Loko (“2015 Population and Housing Census”).
On April 27, 1961 Sierra Leone became independent from the United Kingdom (Sawe, 2017). In 1971 the independence constitution was repealed due to a series of military coups and a new constitution allowed for a ceremonial president. In 1972 it was amended to create an executive presidency (“Sierra Leone: Constitution and Politics”). As time went on, the Republic of Sierra Leone became a one party state and later is was returned to a multiparty system with parliamentary features (“Sierra Leone: Constitution and Politics”).
Peacekeepers from the United Nations worked to disarm rebel troops after a 1999 peace agreement was signed (“Sierra Leone: Constitution and Politics”). There were “growing pains” as the nation gained independence. Every five years presidential elections are held, after which the president selects a cabinet. The last election was held in March of 2018, for a President, Parliament, and local councils; Maada Bio was elected as president (“Sierra Leone: Constitution and Politics”).
The official language of Sierra Leone is English, however it is used for more formal business (Sawe, 2017). Due to the region being inhabited by multiple tribes and freed slaves, there is a mix of languages. Krio is the primary language used throughout Sierra Leone, which is an English based Creole language (Sawe, 2017). Krio is widely used although it has no official status, Mende is also widely used (Sawe, 2017). Like in the United States, there is a wide variety of languages used. Some of these include Temne, Kono, Kuranko, Kissi, Fula, Limba, and Susu (Sawe, 2017).
Languages can vary between the four regions. There are also four physical regions which include plateaus, mountains, lowland plains and forests (“Sierra Leone Geography”). The coast is important for aquaculture, which will be looked at later. Near the coast is mangrove swamps, moving inwards, lowland plains and forests, the eastern section consists of mountains and plateaus (“Sierra Leone Geography”). The Atlantic ocean is important, but rivers provide a major water source. These rivers include the Rokel River, Taia River, Sewa River, and Moa River (“Sierra Leone Geography”)
These physical features lend themselves to items produced in Sierra Leone. Meat and seafood preparations are the most exported products. Other products include milling products, wood, and mined goods (Workman, 2017). As a country, rice and cassava are staples. Rice even more so than cassava. It is Sierra Leone’s staple food, but the country is unable to produce enough to feed the country, let alone export it (“Sierra Leone: Constitution and Politics”).
Sierra Leone has nine public holidays and four recognized seasons. Indepence Day is celebrated on April 27 as that is the day they gained independence from the United Kingdom (Sawe, 2017). Both Muslim and Christian holidays are recognized, including Good Friday, Easter Monday, Eid al-Fitr, Tabaski, The Prophet’s Birthday, Christmas Day, and even Boxing Day (“Holidays in Sierra Leone in 2018”). The country is a beautiful example of religious tolerance. Children typically learn both Muslim and Christian prayers in school as 60% of the country is Muslim and 30% is Christian (“People and Culture”).
With so many languages that are common in the country, it makes sense that Sierra Leone is a blend of cultural traditions and beliefs (“People and Culture”). There is also a shared love of music found throughout the country. Religion is very present in everyday life, both religious practices and beliefs (“People and Culture”). There are many rituals and ceremonies due to this. “Secret societies” are also prevalent, there are different groups for men and women, members obey strict rules, and the members are secret (“People and Culture”). Tourists enjoy seeing the variety of food, traditional clothing, jewellery, crafts, festivals, and performing arts that make up the culture of Sierra Leone (“People and Culture”).
While Sierra Leone seems like an extremely upbeat country, there are many issues occurring currently. May of 2014 was a tragic time for the country and their fragile healthcare system. There was a deadly Ebola outbreak (“U.S. Relations with Sierra Leone”). By November of 2015 the outbreak was declared as contain, but this occured after over 8,000 citizens contracted the disease with almost half dying from it (“U.S. Relations with Sierra Leone”). In order to contain the disease, there were strict restrictions put into place which dropped prices and increased the unemployment rate.
Ebola was not the only medical issue Sierra Leone faces, Malaria and HIV/AIDS are also extreme concerns. Along with a decimated healthcare system, Sierra Leone suffers from one of the lowest literacy rates in Africa (“Major Problems Facing Sierra Leone Today”). A large percentage of the population is considered to live in poverty, 72.5% to be exact. Along with sky high poverty rates comes hunger (“Major Problems Facing Sierra Leone Today”). Hunger comes with its own issues including malnutrition and starvation. It was reported that on average a household in Sierra Leone spent 63% of their money on food and 52% of the population had to borrow money to even be able to buy food (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). The land and water also has issues as a lot of it is polluted due to poor agricultural methods (“Major Problems Facing Sierra Leone Today”).
Agriculture
Due to pollution and deforestation there has been environmental degradation so bad that less than 8% of land is suitable for agriculture (“Major Problems Facing Sierra Leone Today”). Sierra Leone has two distinct seasons, November to April is the dry season. May to October is the wet season with the heaviest precipitation falling from July to September (“Sierra Leone – Climate”). The most rainfall is along the coast, specifically in the mountains where rainfall averages 580 cm (230 in) annually, compared to 315 cm (125 in) in the rest of the country (“Sierra Leone – Climate”). The average temperature is high at 27° C (81° F ) with high humidity averaging 50%-80% in the dry and wet season, respectively (“Sierra Leone – Climate”). Due to floor infrastructure floods are common during the wet season (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). Much of the farmland is within the center of the country (“Sierra Leone Geography”). There are clearly physical and climatic features that have huge effects on agriculture.
Along with physical characteristics there are also cultural effects on agriculture. Due to the large Muslim influence pork is not widely available. However, beef and chicken, and fish are all eaten in Sierra Leone (“People and Culture”). Many families are still farming families, 86.1% in rural areas and 23.3% are in urban areas. Once again the four regions of Sierra Leone are different when it comes to the percentage of households that are agricultural; 74.8% in the Northern region, 73.4% in the Southern region, 72.3% in the Eastern region, and 62.9% in the Western Area(“2015 Population and Housing Census”).
Due to many farms being traditional, subsistence farms they are small and scattered. Fertilizer is limited, fields are prepped with slash and burn methods, and rotation is bush- fallow (“Sierra Leone – Agriculture”). The main farming systems found in Sierra Leone are root crop, fish farms, and tree crop (“Sub-Saharan Africa”). These systems are allowing farmers to produce more, but methods used within them are also causing destruction (“Major Problems Facing Sierra Leone Today”).
As in many developing countries, agriculture employs over 60% of the labor force, most of them being subsistence farmers (“Sub-Saharan Africa”). Rice is a staple in the Sierra Leone diet, thus it is a very important for these farmers for produce it (“Sub-Saharan Africa”). Cassava is another staple produced, along with the cash crops of cocoa, coffee, palm oil, and cashews (“Sub-Saharan Africa”). Along with those, millet, kola nuts, bananas, pineapples and sugarcane and other fruits are grown. Fish is an extremely important product in Sierra Leone. Barracuda, grouper, snapper, lobster and other fish are harvested on aquaculture farms. Beef, goat, and chickens, can be found (“People and Culture”). Dairy, eggs, honey, and spices are also important agricultural products (Workman, 2017).
Once again, Sierra Leone shares characteristics with other developing countries. There are many limitations to production. A lack of improved inputs and technology makes modernization difficult if not impossible (“Agriculture and Food Security”). There are, shockingly enough, labor shortages also, paired with post-harvest losses, creates a tough situation for the agriculture industry in Sierra Leone (“Agriculture and Food Security”). When rebels from Liberia invaded in 1991, production and exports were severely damaged. From 1980 to 1990 agricultural growth averaged 3.1% which fell to -0.1% from 1990-2000 due to the invasion (“2015 Population and Housing Census”). The country is unable to produce enough rice to meet their domestic consumption needs and thus exporting it is not an option (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”).
There may be many constraints on production in Sierra Leone, but there is also a potential for a great amount of growth. USAID is offering support, specifically for aquaculture systems and rice production. They are increasing private investments in agriculture and working to improve the nutritional status of citizens (“Agriculture and Food Security”). Small grants and educational systems are also encouraging farmers, including women and the youth (“Agriculture and Food Security”).
The amount of money the government must spend on importing food is also declining. From 2007 to 2013, money spent went from $32 million to $15 million (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). During these years rice production also rose from 370,000 tonnes to 693,000 tonnes (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). Farmers are being encouraged to diversify agriculture and to adopt the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program, or CAADP (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). Agriculture in Sierra Leone is growing at a rate of 5.3%, which is not quite to the goal of a 6% growth rate set in the CAADP (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). The government created the Agenda for Change program to set goals of self sufficiency and exports (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). Although only 7.95% of land is currently suitable for production, it is thought that up to 74% of land has the potential to be suitable (“Major Problems Facing Sierra Leone Today”; “Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”).
Trade
Sierra Leone still manages to export products even with their current agricultural industry. In 2001, almost $7.5 million worth of agricultural products were exported (“Sierra Leone – Agriculture”). In 2016, Sierra Leone shipped $465.6 million worth of goods, which is a gain of 66.7% from 2014 and a 399.3% gain from 2015 (Workman, 2017). The top ten exported products, the monetary value and the percentage of all exports are as follows:
1. Meat/seafood preparations: US$158.9 million (34.1% of total exports)
2. Dairy, eggs, honey: $142.4 million (30.6%)
3. Milling products, malt, starches: $87.8 million (18.9%)
4. Fish: $27.7 million (5.9%)
5. Cocoa: $18 million (3.9%)
6. Wood: $6.4 million (1.4%)
7. Machinery including computers: $5.2 million (1.11%)
8. Vehicles: $5 million (1.07%)
9. Coffee, spices: $3.8 million (0.8%)
10. Iron, steel: $2 million (0.4%) (Workman, 2017).
Sierra Leone still has to import foods, rice is the leading import and accounts for 8.29% of all imports (OEC, 2016). More than 60% of the rice consumed in Sierra Leone is imported (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). The country is the 166th largest importer in the world, but import rates are decreasing (OEC, 2016). Packaged medicaments account for 4.36% of their imports (OEC, 2016). Other agricultural products that are imported include wheat, onions, fruits, frozen vegetables, raw sugar, sauces and seasonings, tobacco, prepared fish, beer, poultry and eggs, oils, and animal organs (OEC, 2016).
Sierra Leone trades with China, Belgium, Romania, the Netherlands, the United States, India, and the United Kingdom (OEC, 2016). The country has been in the World Trade Organization (WTO) since July 23, 1995 and a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades (GATT) since May 19, 1961. They also belong to the ACP, African Group, G-90, LDCs (Least Developed Countries), and “W52” Sponsors (“Sierra Leone and the WTO”).
The Agenda for Change Program was created and adapted to set a goal of self sufficiency and surplus for export (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). As of 2013 progress towards this goal had been made but there was still a trade deficit (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). If the potential land is utilized for production and crops are diversified there is a large potential to increase trade (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). With USAID and other supporting organizations, both production and trade can increase (“Sierra Leone – Agriculture”). From 2009-2011 the European Union (EU) contributed over $13 million to support to the National Agriculture Response Program, which supports inputs and education for farmers in Sierra Leone (“Food Security”).
Like many developing countries, Sierra Leone still has a large dependence on other nations for products (“Sierra Leone and the WTO”). The agriculture industry is unable to provide enough rice to satisfy the demand in the country (“Sierra Leone: Nursing Agriculture Back to Health”). Most farms do not have access to more modern agricultural technology. Less than 5% of households that are considered agricultural have access to fertilizers, pesticides, or power implements (“Food Security”). This lack of technology does not seem to be due to cultural issues, as the EU contributions were accepted. 15,000 farmers were reached and 138 Agriculture Business Centers were built, which became community meeting points (“Food Security”).
The Republic of Sierra Leone is still a developing nation with many shared characteristics of other developing nations. With support, the nations agriculture industry may flourish. With prosperous production, exports should increase and imports should decrease, improving trade. Even with a rough start to independence, the count