The economics of rice production in the inland-valley swamps of Sierra Leone
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Date
1970
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Illinois
Abstract
A key problem in the development of West African
agricultural economics is shortage of primary data at the
farm level.
This limitation has jeopardized the successful
implementation of many well intentioned national plans.
National plans can only be as reliable as the elements
from which they are constructed.
This principle applies to
the value of plans of more modest proportions such as the
Sierra Leone government1s plan to increase rice production
through an exhaustive development of the iniand-val1ey swamps
for rice cultivation.
To recommend improvements necessary to increase rice
production and rural incomef this study developed a farm
plan for iniand-valley swamps that was cognizant of both
the level of technology and managerial ability in the country.
The initial basis of the farm plan was the establishment of
labor requirements for various farm operations in rice
cultivation and the development of a labor flow statement
as a guide to avoid labor bottlenecks that are character-
istic of traditional tropical agriculture.
Implements used
in the farm plan were selected with the full realization
that the society cannot currently afford the cash outlays
for and the management of conventional farm tractors at the
individual family-farm level.
Suggestions of modest levels
of mechanization that could be in the future development of
a commercial farm business sector were however made.
The author wishes to express his sincere appreci atio n
to Professor W. N. Thompson who acted as his academic advisor
at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. During this
period^ the author has experienced special difficulties not
typical of many students.
Professor Thompson on all occa
sions willingly granted his time and counsel to encourage
the author through difficult times.
Thanks are due to Professor Jean M. Due who has always
been a personal friend and teacher.
The author is also
grateful to Professor Gerald L. Karr who not only assisted
in the collection of data that formed the basis of this
study, but who also supervised the writing of this thesis
while Professor Thompson was on assignment in India.
His
deep and sincere interest in the economic development of
Sierra Leone and in the author1s writing of a problem
solving thesis were
great inspiration at all times.
Finally the author extends his sincere thanks to the
staff and volunteers of the United States Peace Corps
who worked with the Sierra Leone rice farmers in the imple
mentation of the 1968 Rice Farming Scheme.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Household labor, Double cropping, Swamp Rice, West African agricultural economics, Inland-valley swamps, Sierra Leone