Sierra Leone Country Report 2021

The timely availability of improved seeds at affordable prices is critical to improving food security, resilience, and livelihoods for smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone. Seed of improved varieties can deliver state-of-the-art technology to farmers including higher yields, disease and pest resistance, climate change adaptation, and improved nutrition. This report summarizes the key findings of the study conducted by The African Seed Access Index (TASAI) to appraise the structure and economic performance of Sierra Leone’s formal seed sector. With a focus on the four grain and legume crops important to national food and nutritional security (maize, rice, sorghum, and groundnut) the report covers 22 key performance indicators divided into five categories: Research and Development, Industry Competitiveness, Seed Policy and Regulations, Institutional Support, and Service to Smallholder Farmers. We conclude that Sierra Leone’s formal seed sector is in the nascent stage of development. The Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute faces human resource capacity constraints and is significantly underfunded, limiting the institution’s capacity to produce and maintain early generation seed for all crops. Since 2020, seed producers and seed companies have been required to register with the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency, which is a step toward enhancing the production and sale of quality certified seed in the country. The Seed Regulations have been aligned with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Harmonized Seed Regulations and will provide the seed industry in Sierra Leone with increased access to plant varieties already listed in the West Africa Catalogue of Plant Varieties and Species. However, to be useful to seed producers and farmers, the national variety catalogue needs to be updated more frequently. In addition to these highlights, the report discusses many positive developments as well as areas for improvement in Sierra Leone’s formal seed sector