Contraste de las hipótesis sobre las relaciones entre las variables del enfoque mecanicista y la justicia de la solución (H I ).

In Sierra Leone generally, the land acquisition in the rural settings is different from the way it operates in the urban area. In the urban areas, there is an outright sale of land and ownership can be transferred from one person to another. There is no communally owned land as s in the rural areas. Land in these settings is owned either by individuals, families or the Crown (GoSL, 2009).

In the case village, land is not individually owned and the ownership is inherited through lineage. Therefore, land in this village is either owned by families or by the chief. The right to use the land is gained by seeking permission from either the landowning family or the authorities ( the chiefs and other stakeholders) (Unruh & Turray, 2006). A person or group of persons wishing to secure land do so by leasing or renting the land from the owners. Land sought from the chief is cheaper (normally just a cola nut/token as a sign of respect to the authority) but due to community pressure on such land, the supply is always limited. The size

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of the land allocated to an individual or group is determined by the available land as well as what the authority is willing to release at that particular point in time.

In the case village, landowning families assign land use rights to others by rent or mortgage. If land is assigned by rent, the payment could either be upfront in the form of cash or later with an agreed number of bushels of rice to be paid immediately after harvest. The size of the land assigned depends on the excess of land within the family and the unanimous decision taken by the family heads. Within extended families, the allocation of land is usually done by the leadership of the family.

Because of the decline of land quality by human activities and the shifting cultivation system of the upland farming, people are no longer able to cultivate the size of land desired. Most times, the most fertile farms are reserved for the family, even if it cannot be fully utilised by members of the family. The less fertile areas are made available to people outside the family circle. This limits the average size of land by farmer to 1.5 ha(Unruh & Turray, 2006). Apart from the limitation in terms of size, the choice on the use of the land is also subject to the approval of the owners. For example, changing to permanent cropping or any proposed development of the land must have the consent of owners: either the Chief or landowning families.

5.10 Summary

The case site is a rural setting with a population of 890, of which 326 are males and 564 are females. These people are poor. Subsistence agriculture is their major source of livelihood. The ownership of agricultural land is in the hands of a few individuals in the village of which the Chief is crucial. Farm areas are determined by the ability to pay for them, either in cash before or several bushels of rice after harvest. Because the community is poor, the average farm size is normally 1.5h. Constraints, such as transport and access to a market for inputs and selling produce, have major impacts on the people’s lives.

This case study also found is a high reliance on cultural and social-cultural practices. There are both community and family ties which impact different members of the community differently. Secret societies for males and females and their important celebrations are some of the socio- cultural involvements posing threats to household food reserves, which in most cases result in household food insecurity in Mawoma village. The results of this study is presented in the next chapter, chapter six.

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Chapter Six: Research result

6.1 Introduction

The research result chapter presents the findings of the data collected in Mawoma village, in the northern part of Sierra Leone. This chapter seeks to answer the question: How are smallholder rice farmers impacted by the dynamics of the dimensions of food security in the northern region of Sierra Leone? In this research, the focus is on the food security of smallholder rice farmers’ households. This chapter will identify the dynamics of the diversity of the dimensions that are shaping the household food security of smallholder rice farmers in Mawoma, in northern Sierra Leone. All the farmers interviewed are smallholder rice farmers residing in the case village. The findings are presented in two sections showing how household food security is influenced by different factors at different levels.

The first section in this chapter will describe the factors that influence the total amount of food produced by smallholder rice farmers in Mawoma village, the case village. These factors have been identified at all three levels of my interviews. This information is derived from the responses of senior officials from the Sierra Leone government representing the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Statistics Sierra Leone, and district Administrative Officers, as well as respondents from the case village. These findings record the factors affecting food security based on their impact on productivity. They give a broader picture of how production is affected by several factors in the village. The second section highlights the factors that impact on the available food stock after harvesting. These factors are influenced by the dynamics of the household. Household responses to the environment, household behaviour and preferences are key elements within these factors. Therefore, this section will describe specifically, the household dynamics of the dimensions that influence the food security of smallholder rice farmers in the case village. At the end, the chapter will be summarised based on the findings described.

6.2 Section I: Factors that impact on the total amount of food produced by households in