Delivering his Presidential Address at the State Opening of the Second Session of the Sixth Parliament, Sierra Leone’s President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio reminded his citizens that: “Great anger, violence can never build a nation.”
President Bio cautioned that politicians must emulate the courage of their people who have resisted division and rise above those who spread incivility, disinformation, hate, fear and division.
He said: “Turning to one another with empathy, compassion and respect for our diversity is the only way to maintain our place among the top ten most peaceful countries in Africa and as a global leader in religious tolerance.
“This is the only way to nurture and sustain our democracy. Alongside a cooperative citizenry, we owe our peace, security, and stability to the tireless dedication, vigilance, and heroism of our security and intelligence services. They have confronted and foiled violent insurrections, coups, and numerous threats designed to destabilise our nation.
“We will never forget the sacrifices of those who have paid the ultimate price to protect our democracy. Their firm dedication to defending our democracy and ensuring the safety of every Sierra Leonean is truly commendable. Our national security architecture is better coordinated, and early warning and response mechanisms are now more proactive and robust”.
Similarly, on expansion of rice production, President Bio said: “We have expanded rice production areas to include inland valley swamps, irrigated fields, and mechanised services to expedite land preparation”, whiles on mechanisation of the value chain he said: “We increased mechanisation by providing tractors, harvesters, rice mills, and three landing craft for riverine areas.
On research and quality inputs the president said: “Utilising research to deliver high-quality inputs for optimal yields in key value chains, including rice, cocoa, and onions”, whiles on revival of cooperatives he said: “We have reintroduced the cooperative system to support rice farming and cocoa production and marketing”.
On development of Agribusinesses President Bio said: “We supported the establishment of the first cocoa processing factory, a sardine factory using local ingredients, a cashew processing factory, and a large-scale egg production and poultry hatchery.
On establishment of Agro-Industrial Hubs he said: “We have created hubs in key rice production areas, rehabilitated markets, replaced hand- drawn ferries with bridges and constructed a dyke and 35 kilometres of feeder roads”, whiles on support to Armed Forces Agriculture he said: “We enhanced the Armed Forces Agricultural Unit with machinery and high-quality inputs to scale up rice production”.
On financial instruments for Agriculture Bio said: “We tailored financial solutions such as Community Banks, a US$10 Million Agriculture Credit Facility at a 10% interest rate, and a pioneering crop insurance scheme worth NLe28 Million”.
On Ag-Tech and Climate-Smart Agriculture he said: “We introduced technology to support agricultural research, established an early warning system for food security, a soil digital information system, and a national farmers registry linked to national identity numbers”.
On empowerment of women and youth he said: “We expanded the participation of women and youth in agriculture, particularly in post- production rice processing”, whiles on improved Farmer Earnings he said: “We launched a pilot Out-Grower Scheme in Kambia district to increase the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of locally produced parboiled rice at affordable prices.‼
On expansion of Rice Production the president said: “We have expanded rice production areas to include inland valley swamps, irrigated fields, and mechanised services to expedite land preparation”, whiles on mechanisation of the Value Chain he said: “We increased mechanisation by providing tractors, harvesters, rice mills, and three landing craft for riverine areas, whiles on research and Quality Inputs Bio said: “Utilising research to deliver high-quality inputs for optimal yields in key value chains, including rice, cocoa, and onions”.
On revival of Cooperatives president Bio said: “We have reintroduced the cooperative system to support rice farming and cocoa production and marketing, whiles on development of Agribusinesses he said: “We supported the establishment of the first cocoa processing factory, a sardine factory using local ingredients, a cashew processing factory, and a large-scale egg production and poultry hatchery”.
On establishment of Agro-Industrial Hubs, the president said: “We have created hubs in key rice production areas, rehabilitated markets, replaced hand- drawn ferries with bridges and constructed a dyke and 35 kilometres of feeder roads”.