The government of Sierra Leone, through the Regional Rice Value Chain Project (RRVCP) in the Ministry of Agriculture (MoF), has signed a contract with a consulting firm for the design and supervision of irrigation infrastructure for 4,000 Ha (four thousand hectares) of farmland in the Torma Bum project site, Bonthe District.
The Torma Bum RRVCP Project Coordinator, Abdulai Bun Wai, says the project is divided into two parts: the infrastructure development aspect and the farm production aspect. He said they, as technical people, believe that infrastructure development is the most important aspect of the project in transforming the rice sector in line with the National Agricultural Transformation Plan.
He went on, "The infrastructure consists of 4,000 Ha. (four thousand hectares) of land to be irrigated; two warehouses to be rehabilitated; one new warehouse to be constructed with a drying floor; four integrated rice mills; 100KVa diesel generators; prefabricated housing units; and rural market infrastructure."
According to the project coordinator, the farm production aspect is considered to be the easiest part of this project arrangement. He disclosed that the project is jointly funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) with 60 percent, BADEA with 35 percent, and the government of Sierra Leone with 5 percent.
Bun Wai confessed that the project has been struggling a little bit because of the non-actualization of the BADEA financing agreement but expressed delight towards the completion of a long-awaited important driver of the project, which is the signing of a contract with consultants to undertake the design and supervisory roles for the development of 4,000 ha of land for irrigation, which according to him would be done in a couple of minutes.
The General Manager of the Spectrum Engineering Consultants/DTI, Ahmed M. Mneimneh, explained the different stages involved in the design and supervision of the irrigation infrastructure and how they intend to execute their lined-up activities. He said that their firm will go through to see that the physical work of this project kicks off as soon as possible.
He assured us, "Our company will evaluate the location of the project to get first-hand data, and our work will include the design and supervision of irrigation infrastructure for 4000 ha of land that will enhance effective water distribution to farm fields and other facilities."
The Minister of Agriculture Abu Bakar Karim, says the irrigation infrastructural development, and mechanization are of priority for the ministry toward enhancing production and productivity as RRVCP aims at increasing rice production and productivity in the county and reducing its dependence on imported rice.
Minister Karim noted that rice is a political commodity as agriculture is contributing 61 percent to the country’s economy, and the Ministry over the years have put some lowlands under the mechanization priority as part of their efforts to produce sufficient rice sustainably and reduce the country’s over-reliance on imported rice as it consumes about 1.5 million tons of rice yearly.
The signing activity was climaxed with the consultant’s visits to the project location in Torma Bum, in which they were accompanied by the project coordinator, the Project Engineer, and other technical staff from the project. The signing formed the biggest aspect of the project as it is expected to carry about 55 percent of the total project cost.
Contract signing ceremony
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