Agricultural development in the poorest countries: insights from the poultry sector in Sierra Leone

In many African countries, agricultural development has been slow, and many people remain food insecure. Productivity growth in the agricultural sector is crucial as the majority of the population depends on agriculture for food and income. We focus on Sierra Leone, which like many African countries has followed a growth path of agricultural expansion rather than intensification. Over the past decades the country has become increasingly dependent on food imports, and hard-earned foreign currency is used to purchase food that the country could produce itself. We argue that the prospects of further growth and development along this path are limited. We focus on the poultry sector, and, based on our work in the country, identify promising directions for change. We argue for a growth strategy based on agriculture-based industrialization for domestic and regional markets. We highlight the importance of learning and coordination within the value chain and argue that prospects for sectoral development may not materialize without complementary (trade) policies. Central in this process is the development of an agri-industry, which helps scale productivity and the possibility to add value in the supply chain. Growth in agriculture is achievable with local resources and likely creates more broad-based prosperity than investing in other sectors. A policy focus on such sustainable intensification of agriculture seems to be the best approach here as well as for similar African countries.