The Government of Sierra Leone in collaboration with WFP has flagged off over 2,044 metric tons of locally grown rice — equivalent to 40,880 bags — to supply meals to schoolchildren across the country. This is Feed Salone in action.
The dispatch was launched by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, at the WFP warehouse in Kissy. The rice, produced by 12,000 smallholder farmers across seven districts, will feed more than 270,000 pupils in 1,155 schools.
This year’s local rice procurement is more than double what WFP bought last year. It was made possible through a contract awarded to WFP by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to off-take rice directly from farmers for school feeding. The result: over $2 million pumped into rural economies and farming communities.
“This is Feed Salone rice — grown here, processed here, and feeding our children,” said Dr. Kpaka. “We’ve moved from vision to delivery. And this is just the beginning.”
With Sierra Leone needing around 1.1 million metric tons of rice annually and only importing about 300,000 to 400,000 metric tons, the bulk is already grown locally. The government’s new goal is to expand this model to serve other public institutions — including the military, police, and hospitals.
