BELOW IS AN EMAIL FROM JAMES IN FREETOWN CONTAINING THE REPORT THAT I ASKED HIM TO GIVE. PA FODAY HAS A FARM AND RICE FIELD IN KABALA. NHA REALIZES THAT IMMEDIATE MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN TO DEAL WITH THE FOOD SHORTAGE THAT IS ESPECIALLY HITTING AFRICA HARD AT THIS TIME. THE EXPANSION OF PA FODAY'S FARM IN KABALA, MEANS MORE PEOPLE GET FED AND ALSO INCOME FROM SELL OF RICE AT REASONABLE PRICES RATHER THAN THE OUTRAGEOUS PRICES BEING DEMANDED FOR IMPORTED RICE. LOCAL PRODUCE IS MORE ACCEPTABLE AND AFFORDABLE.
Hey Mama,
Luckily i got this figure from Pa Foday Sunday night on the rice extension thing. See how best you can go through. I had to straight up some things in it to make it well understood. He too wants to know you response. Will write more on other issues after this.
Son.
PROJECT FOR SWAMP RICE IN KABALA Report: by Pa Foday Mansaray
This kind of project usually covers and involved lot of things. Below are listed the yearly expenditure of a five acre swamp rice farm.
THINGS NEEDED:
1. SEEDLING: The total amount of rice seedling needed for this kind of project (5 acre) swamp is two bags of swamp rice.
2. AMOUNT: The cost for a full bag of swamp rice is one hundred and twenty thousand leones. So two bags should be around two hundred and forty thousand leones.
3. TOOLS: This includes ten hoes and ten cutlasses. Each of these tools cost ten thousand leones each making it to a total of two hundred thousand leones on tools.
4. WORKMANSHIP/ LABOUR: The labor cost for the day for one laborer is ten thousand leones per day.($3.49 per worker, per day) Usually, ten laborers are needed for a day to get a whole job done. This will sum up to one hundred thousand leones per day on labour
5. FEEDING: The amount needed for feeding for ten people per day is sixty thousand leones for both rice and plassas(soup). (10 workers, plus meal equals $54 per day)
6. CARE TAKING: This involved fencing, weeding and brushing around the farm. Three people are needed for this. fifteen thousand leones each per day to meet these areas which will sum up to forty five thousand leones per day.
7. RENTAGE: Most of these swamps are owned by people so we have to pay some amount either in cash or in kind for each swamp. Years back I do pay a five full bags of swamp rice to the owner. This will sum up to six hundred thousand leones.
The above estimate is for one swamp rice in Kabala , when I was strong enough some years back, I do work five big swamps starting May and ends up in December when we starting harvesting. There might be some slight changes in some of the cost for labour, tools and materials but this is a rough estimate per swamp.
From the above, the total for a single rice swamp is: One million two hundred and forty five thousand leones. (Tuesday, May 6, 2008: 1,245,000 Sierra Leone Leone = 423.157 US Dollar) Excluding feeding, care taking and labor. These three are checked by day. So see how best you can add those three daily amounts to the above amount.
Thanks.
At this stage of the game, WE believe the $425 for the swamp rice seed & tools is doable. Our trouble comes in the 8 months at $54 a day labor. (We are struggling to provide aid to those in need now with donations dropping due to the American economy woes.) That would be $13,000 plus dollars for the project...or $1,625 per month but that is counting weekend and workers will not be working weekends...so re-figured excluding weekends comes to $9504 for the 8 month growing season bringing us down to just under $1200 per month. The COMPOUND remains a MUST DO. Donations are already down. There is no doubt everything we are hoping to accomplish is important and very much required to minister daily survival to many many people. How do we do it? We need your comments, your thoughts on how to pull it together and make it a reality! PLEASE RESPOND, LET US HEAR FROM YOU!
