As the 2012 comes to a close, and the rice is coming off the fields in Sierra Leone, Mountain Lion Agriculture (MLAg) has had its best year to date. A nearly 3 fold increase in yields were realized on MLAg’s Model Farm, the purpose of which is to research and disseminate practical practices easily adaptable by small holders in Sierra Leone to increase the yield and profitability of their farms. Please view the video below to see these results. MLAg has also been shortlisted for an Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund(AECF) grant and the consultant sent by AECF to do due diligence on our project uncovered new information regarding MLAg’s positive effects on the rice value chain in Sierra Leone. Small-holder farmers in our supplier network have increased the size of their businesses by 2 times in several instances, solely because of MLAg’s interest-free seed loans and training. Market vendors also come for far away to buy our rice at a premium, because it sells first at local markets due to a lack of impurities and superior quality.

Mountain Lion Ag has also doubled the size of its mill in Gbombsamba with the addition of another FINIC de-husker and mechanized threshing unit. Several large multinational companies, INGOs, the WFP and local wholesale stores (in addition to market vendors who in 2011 purchased all of our rice) have expressed an interest in purchasing Mountain Lion brand rice; with more paddy in our supplier network than we can buy and more orders for rice than we can fill, MLAg looks set for strong growth in 2013.