Sierra Leone: The Effects of Working for the Mining Industry Instead of in Agriculture

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One of the largest issues facing the Global South today is food security. In many cases food security is closely associated with agriculture in a specific area. Due to several issues faced by post war agriculture in Sierra Leone a food security issue has arisen leading to income/consumption poverty. One of the issues facing in Sierra Leone is the number of citizens choosing to work in the mining industry as opposed to working in agriculture. Another issue faced by the agriculture industry in Sierra Leone is the displacement of many farm families due to the civil war and the affect it has on food production. The agriculture industry in Sierra Leone also faces this issue of rice importation into the country which lowers the income of farmers. These issues faced by the agriculture sector in Sierra Leone have lead to problems with food security and poverty.

One of the largest industries within Sierra Leone is mining industry due to it's natural resources such as diamonds. This has caused an issue of food production as many of the youths in Sierra Leone have chosen mining over agriculture. The mining industry offers the potential of making large sums of money so many workers are switching due to “the lure of striking it rich”(Grant Andrew, 2007) . The idea of workers making lager sums of money in other industries is one of the main reasons why their is a labour shortage in the agriculture sector. Although researchers found that “Flooding the labour market in the diamond sector will further reduce the already paltry wages paid to miners”(Grant Andrew, 2007). This means that the mining sector is contributing to poverty by taking away workers from agriculture and also lowering the wages of many citizens within Sierra Leone. An article...

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...poverty line.

In conclusion there are several reasons for which the income consumption poverty has arisen due to the agriculture industry in Sierra Leone. Firstly many Sierra Leone citizens are choosing to work in the mining industry instead of agriculture which results in a shortage of food and a lowered wages for those already mining. Some Sierra Leone citizens have begun importing foreign rice due to higher prices in Sierra Leone which lowers the incomes of farmers. Due to the war many farm families were displaced and their farms were no longer operational. This led to a shortage in food which increased the price, making it unaffordable for many. Due to these issue faced in the agriculture sector of post war Sierra Leone many of there citizens have succumbed to poverty and has resulted in Sierra Leone becoming the eight most impoverished country in the world.

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