by SCADePM&E VISITS SCADeP SITES FOR ASSESSMENTS
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication team of (SCADeP) has conducted field visits to three Agribusinesses that have benefited from the project’s matching grants meant to streamline their business operations and implement functional out-grower schemes for value chains being supported by SCADeP. The visit sought to evaluate their outputs and assess their results.
The three Companies visited included: Leecon Poultry who operates a maize out-grower scheme, Family Poultry also working with maize farmers and Gold Tree known for an established oil palm out-grower scheme.
These companies are currently implementing production activities in several communities in the districts of Port Loko (Rochaindecom, Sodukou and Bokuma), Moyamba (Foindu, Bum, Booebu) and Kailahun (Daru, Njala-sandi and Dablama) respectively.
The field visits enabled the SCADeP staff interact with smallholder farmers of the three Agribusinesses to learn from their successes and challenges in improving maize/poultry and oil palm value chains productions.
“Grantees have indicated in their progress reports that the 2022 production activities are now at an advance stage showing some good deliverables such as increaseds area under cultivation, increase in the number of farmers registered in the out-grower scheme, etc. In view of this, there was need to validate these progress reports by conducting field visits.” says Brima Kamara, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of SCADeP.
The team also witnessed the harvesting of maize by five farmer-based organizations working with Leecon Poultry Company on 200 hectares benefiting 200 farmers. The company produces feed for their poultry farm of 20,000 birds and sells to other poultry farmers in the country.
Family Poultry’s mechanized maize farm of 55 hectares benefited 45 farmers with 19 women and 26 men in the three communities of Foindu, Bum and Booebu in Moyamba district. Harvesting is scheduled to take place by September 15, 2022 with an expected production volume of 440 metric tons. According to the Out-grower Manager, Ishaka Dugba, this production is more than enough to feed 4,500 birds currently being raised by Family Poultry.
Goldtree is currently out-planting 23,130 improved oil palm seedlings (Tenera Variety) on 150 hectares benefiting 150 farmers in Kailahun and Pujehun districts. These out-growers already have existing plantations and require expansion of their farms to increase production and sales volume.
SCADeP is implementing the Sierra Leone Agribusiness Development Fund (SLADF), a financing mechanism that provides matching grants on a ratio of 50:50 to Agribusinesses to establish out-grower schemes that directly impact the productivity and production of the out-growers and to also build their capacity to deliver their business objectives.
SCADeP is a project under the ministry of Agriculture with funding from the World Bank.