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Tony Blair welcomes Sierra Leone government's roll out of “agricultural business centres”

Tony Blair opened the new “agricultural business centre” in Masiaka, Sierra Leone today, as part of the rollout of the Government’s ambitious Smallholder Commercialisation Programme.

President Ernest Bai Koroma has made growth in the agricultural sector his Government’s top priority, declaring it the “engine for socio-economic growth and development of the nation”. At the centre of this is an ambitious reform programme called the Smallholder Commercialisation Programme, or “farm for business. The programme is expected to help lift 80,000 farming families - some half a million people - out of poverty through the provision of seeds, fertiliser, machinery and training as well as improved access to markets. The programme will enable Sierra Leone to achieve 7% growth in its agriculture sector, putting it on track to meet its Millennium Development Goals. Sierra Leone has a climate and fertile geography that make it particularly effective in growing crops such as rice, sugar, oil palm and cassava; and the $400m, 5 year programme is targeted at the smallholder farmers who make up Sierra Leone’s rural poor.

Tony Blair, visiting Sierra Leone for the fourth time in his role as Patron of the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), said: ‘I am delighted to be able to see first-hand the progress that Sierra Leone is making under President Koroma. The President has rightly made agriculture his number one priority; and through the “farm for business” programme he has given that a focus and purpose that will bring significant benefits to the people of Sierra Leone. President Koroma has proven that with a clear vision, strong leadership and a determined focus on key priorities, it is possible to achieve results. He has already done this with Free Healthcare, which has delivered a threefold increase in children under five receiving medical care compared to this time last year, and over a million mothers and children are expected to benefit from the initiative by the end of the year. He can now do the same for farmers with his focus on the Smallholder Commercialisation Programme, which has the potential to reach some half a million people over the next five years. I am very proud that my team and I are able to support President Koroma and his Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Sam Sesay.”

The “farm for business” programme is the latest in a line of ambitious programmes and goals led by the Government of Sierra Leone. In the autumn of 2009 sustainable supplies of electricity were brought to Freetown for the first time through the completion of the historic Bumbuna hydro-electric plant. In April this year Sierra Leone launched its Free Healthcare Initiative for pregnant women and small children. In its early months the abolition of user fees has led to a remarkable increase in the use of health facilities, leading to the number of children born in hospital more than doubling. A 6 month review is currently underway. Sierra Leone has also risen up the Transparency International anti-corruption index, and is the second fastest improver over the last ten years in the UN Human Development Index.

The AGI has a team of 8-10 people working alongside the Government in Freetown to support the launch of the “farm for business” programme, as well as other Government priorities such as the Free Healthcare Initiative and private sector investment. The AGI team has been working with government counterparts in Sierra Leone for over two years to help improve government effectiveness and public administration, with a view to contributing towards sustainable economic growth and the reduction of poverty.

Welcoming Tony Blair, the President said:

"I am delighted to welcome Mr. Blair back to Freetown. His Africa Governance Initiative has been supporting my Government for 2 years now, and has made a real difference – and I am pleased that he has extended his commitment to working with us. The support they provide is of a different kind - building my Government's capacity to implement my flagship projects like Free Healthcare and the Smallholder Commercialisation Programme. I also welcome the partnership between the Fourah Bay College and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, a further sign of Mr. Blair's commitment and friendship to Sierra Leone and its people."

Tony Blair is Patron of the AGI and a pro bono strategic advisor to the President of Sierra Leone. Whilst in Sierra Leone he also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Sierra Leone - Fourah Bay College and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, in order to mark the partnership between the two organisations through the Foundation’s Faith and Globalisation Initiative. 

Mr Blair’s trip is part of a wider visit to West Africa, which will see him travel to Liberia to meet with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Government, where AGI also runs a governance project.

The Government of Sierra Leone’s Smallholder Commercialisation Programme, or “farm for business”, is a five-year, $403m programme that will increase the incomes and food security of smallholder farmers by enabling farmers to increase production, to process more of the crops that they grow, and to market their product more effectively. The heart of the programme is the establishment of Agricultural Business Centres (each of which will support 3-5 Farmer-Based Organisations) and support to farmers through these ABCs which will enable them to transition from subsistence farming to farming for business. Three and a half million Sierra Leoneans depend on smallholder farming to survive yet 70% live below the poverty line because they lack the means to move from subsistence to commercial farming.