The agricultural export economy of Sierra Leone: its development since 1900

Makannah, Toma John (1972) The agricultural export economy of Sierra Leone: its development since 1900. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Analysis of the agricultural export economy of Sierra Leone is not new. Most economic studies of the country have treated certain facets of this topic, such as the trends of export volumes and the role of the Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board (SLPMB) in this sector. However, a thorough economic study is still lacking. -- This study attempts: (a) a historical survey of the sector from 1900 to 1945 with a view to testing the appropriateness of Hla Myint's vent-for-surplus model in explaining the export developmental patterns of palm kernel, cocoa and coffee exports within this interval; and (b) an assessment of the roles of institutions, volume and supply determinant factors during the development phase 1946 to 1968 - especially intended to offer a more balanced picture of the declines in the volumes of total agricultural exports that set in around the mid- 1950s. -- Chapter II deals with the development of the foundation of the agricultural export sector from 1900 to 1945 and ascertains the relevance of the vent-for-surplus model to the peasant export experience of Sierra Leone. -- Postwar agricultural export developments largely characterized by the marked downward trend in the volumes of total agricultural exports are discussed in the next three chapters. Unlike the phase 1900 to 1945, export developmental patterns within this period cannot be fitted into any simple theoretical model such as Hla Myint's vent-for-surplus model or Lewis's labour surplus theory, partly because of the interplay of a host of non-market forces and partly because contraction rather than expansion was the export change that had to be explained. -- Chapter III evaluates the roles of institutions such as deliberate government planning, the multifarious activities of the SLPMB and the cooperatives and the consequences of the diamond rush of the 1950's into the Kono, Kenema and Bo Districts in the development of the sector. -- Chapter IV focuses attention on the factors influencing the trends and annual fluctuations in the volumes of palm kernel, cocoa and coffee within the interval 1953 to 1968. -- Finally, Chapter V attempts a theoretical discussion of supply and an examination of the factors determining the supply of palm kernel exports.

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