Mountain Lion Agriculture

What the company does and why

Sierra Leone's government wants to become less dependent on food imports. 'This country is blessed with very fertile soil and it is absurd that we spend $200 million annually on importing basic foodstuffs like rice,' Minister Jonathan Joseph Ndanema said when presenting his plan. This is all the more regrettable because the country's own type of rice - local growing red rice - contains far more vitamins and minerals than imported Asian rice. The government's ambition is there, but many farmers are caught in a vicious cycle.

Many rice farmers can barely keep their heads above water. During the period when rice is sown but there is no new harvest yet, farmers depend on the stock they have from the previous harvest. Often that stock is insufficient to cover the entire period between harvests. Hunger is the result and middlemen capitalise on this. They offer farmers loans at sky-high interest rates. In addition, these traders give an advance on the new harvest. In doing so, they charge rock-bottom prices, but the rice farmers have their backs against the wall. They can choose between bottom prices or starvation.

The impact

Mountain Lion Agriculture buys rice directly from farmers and processes it into a finished product for the domestic market. Rice is on the menu every day in Sierra Leone and demand is high. Unlike middlemen, Mountain Lion Agriculture offers rice farmers an interest-free loan in the months between harvests. In addition, the rice mill buys the harvest from farmers at fair market prices.

Fair Factory Development Fund has invested in this factory to expand production. With increased processing capacity, even more small-scale rice farmers will be able to deliver their harvest to the factory and earn a fair income. In addition, the investment was also used to be able to use the factory's residual flows (especially rice husks) as fuel for the machinery. Thus, a step towards greater circularity has been taken.

Also sandwich in African rice!

As a participant, you become a co-owner of the Fair Factory Development Fund. The minimum deposit is 100,000 euros. By investing in the Fair Factory Development Fund, you enable us to invest in several factories in different countries.