John Kelly Marah
The Torma Bum Rice Project, which was launched by President Bio as the Sierra Leone Regional Rice Value Chain Project in Torma Bum, in the Bonthe District, Southern Sierra Leone, on 11th October 2021, but this project seems to be a white elephant.
The project aims at developing 12,500 acres of land for rice production by small-holder farmers in the riverine grassland area of Torma Bum, as well as increasing rice production in the country to help bridge the gap between local demand for rice and local production. The realization of the project includes : i) acquisition of farm machinery and implements, and the provision of mechanized services to participating farmers on credit basis ; ii) establishment of a seed multiplication and experimentation unit, iii) infrastructural developments; including the construction of access and feeder roads, and the provision of health and water facilities ; iv) acquisition and renovation, and at a later stage, expansion of an existing rice mill for the processing of project output ; v) provision of staff housing and other ancillary facilities, including workshops, transport facilities and VHF radio communications ; and vi) rice mill acquisition, rehabilitation and expansion. The project is expected to contribute to the increase of rice production and a corresponding increase in farmers’ revenue.
Since 2021 to date, there has been no development in the Torma Bum rice development project, despite the said project used by His Excellency during his campaign in 2019. The said rice project was to directly benefit 7,000 women and youth farmers, along with 35,000 farming families who are growing rice on 35,000 hectares of farmlands in the project locations.
The Torma Bum project, a $34 million Word Bank funded project was to kick start large scale rice production in the country. Unfortunately, this rice project seems to be in limbo, with the government talking about feed Salone project, and little reference about Torma Bum.
To make matters worse, is the introduction of a 5 percent tax on rice, the staple food of the people by the government in a Budget Speech delivered by the Finance Minister. Notably absent is agricultural machinery for wide scale industrial farming, which would obviously result in high yield. The absence therefore of the necessary infrastructure to embark on large scale mechanized farming casts an ominous cloud over the success of the much talked about feed Salone project of the government.