SOBBA

Challenges faced by SOBBA

 

Despite the successes summarized above, SOBBA is facing some constraints especially so that there is no political will for the formation of a national seed policy and that the private seed multiplication industry is in its infancy stages. As such all of the agricultural resources, economies of scale and help that would have been realized /derived from a structured national seed policy are sought, absorbed and paid for by SOBBA. Such constraints includes; hiring private consultants; paying for all agricultural inputs; sourcing certified seeds at very high costs; difficulty in finding consistent buyers of certified seeds; little or no access to government resources; competing  with an influx of international agro-conglomerates for arable land and Labor. All of these costs and constraints are a huge resource drain for a relatively new company like SOBBA.

 

Another major constraints faced by SOBBA is that high demand crops (rice, cowpea and groundnut) have very low profit margins and are the most expensive to cultivate, compared to other cash crop (which are not labour intensive after the first 3 years of cultivation). Therefore, most farmers opt for vegetables (with a high profit margin but not a seed multiplication crop) and rice for sustenance purposes and these cash crops which requires only minimal land maintenance and pruning once established. SOBBA had in 2013 a 5% gross profit margin which (although realistic for a new seed company, is not financial viable enough to sustain the business in the near future).

 

Added to all the problems highlighted above is the 2014-2015 Ebola Crisis which did not allow SOBBA to complete its farming season including the harvesting of our yields.  Even though the 1st planting season was not disrupted due to EVD, the subsequent government travel and Ebola prevention restrictions caused major disruptions on ongoing farming activities thereafter (in the regions that we operated-Port-Loko axis). Our operations including that of our 30 contract farmers and other 50 farmers experienced & reported the following information below which was compiled via on-site farm visits, during our Ebola Sensitization drive and phone interviews. This information includes: 

 

• Community weeding, harvesting, threshing, was discouraged due to the restrictions on the congregation of large group

• labor cost increased significantly as the people who were willing to work became scarce. Youth who normally do some weed and bird-scaring are confined to their homes

• Farming inputs (Fertilizers, seeds and stems) costs have increased as the Leones depreciated due to inflation and scarcity to obtain and transport

• Other daily supplemental Income (Artisanal tasks-hunting gathering weaving, cloth making) were abandoned as the fear and knowledge of contacting the virus increased 

• Crops were not adequately supervised and monitored in the fields during the period due to restrictive measures which may led to lower or non viable yields

• Harvesting for the first planting season were in most farms not completed and subsequently abandoned. 

• Most farmers who normally undertook 2 planting seasons (May-Aug & Sept -Nov)  were forced to only undertake one planting season

• Livestock farmers who mostly resided in the provinces faced increased transportation cost due to vehicular restrictions between one district to another forcing some farmers to save their stock for the 2015 market.

• Farmers harvest have still not being sold and are facing deterioration and spoilage. Most of the local market, market gathering and barter outlets have been banned.

• The current available influx of food in the market of rice and international aid are forcing farmers to sell their meager harvest at losses