MOYAMBA DISTRICT, 17 October 2026 – President Dr Julius Maada Bio and First Lady Fatima Bio on Saturday concluded a day-long field tour of three major agricultural investments in Moyamba District, using symbolic harvests to showcase how private enterprise, women-led agribusiness and the military are driving his flagship Feed Salone initiative.
The tour, which comes just days before World Food Day and the 3rd Anniversary of Feed Salone – to be hosted this year in Magburaka, Tonkolili District – highlighted the government’s strategy of linking research, mechanization and institutional off-takers to cut Sierra Leone’s $300 million annual food import bill.
At the centre of the visit was Yoni, Kamajei Chiefdom, where President Bio, who is Commander-in-Chief, joined officers and men of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) to harvest rice cultivated on 4,227 hectares.
The Yoni harvest is part of a much larger military farming programme. The RSLAF, under Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Amara Bangura, now operates 4,837 acres of rice and cashew farms across six locations – Makally, Mankana and Rumbeh in Port Loko District; Masang in Tonkolili; and Yoni and Tormabum in Moyamba District, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The military expects to produce about 59,900 bags of clean rice from the current season. Under an off-taker agreement with the Ministry of Finance, the rice will supply the Armed Forces’ own food needs for the next six months – saving government foreign exchange and demonstrating how institutions can feed themselves.
Deputy Minister of Defence, Rtd Col Muana Brima Massaquoi, said the military’s involvement is backed by Section 165(2) of the 1991 Constitution, which mandates the Armed Forces to participate in national development.
President Bio commended the effort: “We are here to celebrate our farmers, especially the Military, for protecting and feeding our nation at the same time.”
From 5 Acres to 120 Hectares
Earlier at Vaama Farm in Bai Largo, the President visited Sherilyn’s Enterprise for National Change (SLENC) Limited, a women-led enterprise that has grown from a 5-acre pilot to 120 hectares of mechanized hybrid maize.
SLENC, which supplies maize for poultry feed, now employs more than 200 young people – directly addressing one of the key constraints highlighted by Agriculture Minister Dr Henry Musa Kpaka during his recent pre-World Food Day tour of poultry farms in Tonkolili and Kambia. High feed costs have been crippling poultry farmers, forcing heavy reliance on imported feed.
Seeds That Can Change Salone
At SMART Farms in Moyamba, President Bio inspected an irrigation-supported seed multiplication project producing improved rice varieties developed by the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI).
The farm links research to farmers – multiplying quality seeds that can yield 3-4 tons per hectare compared to less than 1 ton from traditional varieties, and showing how irrigation can allow two to three cropping seasons a year instead of one rain-fed season.
The President said the three sites show the complete Feed Salone value chain – from research, to mechanized production, to institutional market.
“This is what Feed Salone was designed for – private sector at the forefront, connecting commercial farms with out-growers and creating jobs for young people,” he said, reaffirming government’s support through financing windows with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
The visits come as former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, now Chair of AGRA, is in Sierra Leone advising on how to scale private sector partnerships and sustain investment in agriculture – a key recommendation he made during his meeting with Dr Kpaka this week.
As Sierra Leone approaches World Food Day on 16th October, marked globally under the theme “Right to Foods for a Better Life”, the Moyamba field visits were intended to send a clear message: that feeding Salone will require everyone – from women entrepreneurs and researchers to soldiers – to farm.
