Farms in Sierra Leone's World Bank-funded food system resilience program produced 119,634 metric tons of paddy rice on 47,100 hectares, the finance ministry said in its first-half 2026 reform report. Yields rose to 2.54 tons per hectare from 2.18 after the farms received improved seed and 4,550 tons of fertilizer, the ministry said.
Analysis: The program's starting yield equals the national average of 2.18 tons per hectare, by our calculation, so the 16.5% gain is a fair measure of what better seed and fertilizer can add. Yet the supported farms grow only about 8% of national paddy, by our calculation from the agriculture ministry's survey, which limits the effect on rice imports. The figures come from the program itself, and the report does not say which season they cover. Sierra Leone's two official surveys also disagree on the size of the 2025 harvest. The next agricultural survey should show whether the gain spreads beyond supported farms.
Source: Ministry of Finance, Government of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Finance, Public Financial Management Reform First Half Progress Report 2026, Project to date (H1 2026 report) and Baseline; The Calabash, MAFS 2025 Crop Production Survey (with Stats SL), as reported, 2025; The Calabash, The Calabash Newspaper: Rice Production Rises by 4.2% as Sierra Leone Moves Closer to Food Self-Sufficiency (June 29, 2026), 2025