Agriculture and food in Guinea

Agriculture in Guinea

The Republic of Guinea, formerly known as French Guinea is situated in West Africa and bordered by six countries: Cote d’Ivoire Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Senegal; and Sierra Leone. Guinea extends southeast in a crescent from the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Its topography varies from coastal plains to inland mountains that account for about 60 percent of the land area. Several of the region’s major rivers, in particular the Niger, Senegal, and Gambia, all originate from these highlands, making Guinea the “water tower” of West Africa. These rivers drain vast arable plains, and upstream offer important potential for hydroelectric energy. Guinea’s forests are now mostly limited to a few mountainous areas in the south (Ziama and Nimba), and to gallery forests along watercourses. The coastal areas and most of the inland regions of Guinea have a tropical climate, with a rainy season lasting from May to October, uniformly warm temperatures, and moderate to high humidity. The upper Guinea region has a hotter, drier, more desert-like climate. The most common soils found in Guinea are laterites formed of iron and hydrated aluminum oxides and other materials that often concretize into hard iron-rich conglomerates. Sandy brown soils predominate in the northeast, while black, heavy clay soils accumulate in the backwaters along the coast. There are alluvial soils along the major rivers. Soil conservation is extremely important, because most soils are thin and rainfall heavy, causing much erosion.

The country is divided into four distinct geo-ecological zones:

- Maritime (or Lower) Guinea along the coast;
- Middle Guinea, which includes the highland areas of the Fouta Djallon;
- Upper Guinea with savannahs in the north and mountains in the south;
- Forested Guinea mostly bordering Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia in the southeast of the country.

Guinea is an agricultural country. Two-thirds of Guinea’s population is rural, and more than 70% of the population works in the agriculture, livestock, fishery, forestry, and mining sectors. Guinea has favourable natural conditions for agriculture, livestock, and fisheries subsectors, which benefit from abundant rainfall, relatively high levels of arable and pasture land, as well as 320 km of coastline.

Guinea’s total land area is 245,860 square kilometres. Agricultural land comprises 51% of total land area, and 5% of cropland is irrigated. Conakry, the country’s capital, is the largest of the 38 urban communes (urban areas) in the country. The high plateaus of the Fouta Djallon are little more than part-time pastures, with hillsides given over to the growing of peanuts (groundnuts) and fonio (a sorghumlike grain). Along the streams and rivers, rice, bananas, tomatoes, strawberries, and citrus fruits are grown commercially. Most families have truck gardens (gardens that produce specific vegetables in relatively large quantities for distant markets), and tsetse-resistant Ndama cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, chickens, and Muscovy ducks are raised. In Lower Guinea, oil and coconut palms, rice, bananas, vegetables, salt, and fish are important elements of trade. A number of large-scale plantations produce a good quantity of bananas and pineapples. Except for poultry and a few goats, there are relatively few domestic animals. In Upper Guinea, grains and cassava (manioc) are important food crops; vegetables, tobacco, and karite (shea butter) are traded locally; and domestic animals are common. In the Forest Region, rice is the chief food crop, along with cassava, peanuts, and corn (maize). Gardens of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and tobacco are scattered in the shade of fruit trees, and coffee trees, kola nuts, and oil palms are important cash crops. Goats and fowl are the most common domestic animals. Rice, cassava, maize, and groundnuts are the main staple foods produced and consumed in Guinea.

Rice in Guinea

Rice is the primary staple consumed in Guinea, with per capita consumption estimated at 100 kg per year. Demand is met through a mix of local production and substantial imports from the international market and neighbouring West African countries. Consumers have very strong preferences in terms of rice characteristics and there are four main types or rice: local and imported parboiled rice, and local and imported white rice. Parboiled local rice is generally perceived to have a better taste and higher nutritional quality than other types of rice. The region of N’Zérékoré in Forested Guinea is the primary rice production zone, with over 30 percent of the average total production. Rice production is minor in the regions of Labé and Mamou in Middle Guinea.

Cassava in Guinea

Cassava is the second most widely consumed staple food in Guinea, after rice. Production takes place throughout the country and year round, and is generally adequate to meet domestic requirements. A small share of the production is used for animal feed. The cassava tuber is a substitute for rice, particularly in areas where rice cultivation is less prevalent, and during the lean season when rice becomes less available. Cassava tuber is consumed fresh, but is most commonly processed into cassava flour or gari (a sort of coarse flour) and prepared as “tô,” “kouti,” “attiecké,” and “gelen.” The tubers, leaves, flour, or gari are usually boiled or steamed and used to create a type of paste/cake that is served to accompany stews, sauces, fish, or meat. Kankan and Labé regions contribute the most to national cassava production by volume.

Maize in Guinea

Maize is a common substitute for rice, particularly in Middle and Upper Guinea. Fresh maize is eaten grilled or boiled. Maize is also frequently processed into flour and consumed as a porridge or pounded into a paste to make maize “tô.” Yellow maize is usually preferred over white maize, and maize is often preferred over cassava due to its shorter cooking time Maize is grown in all regions of the country but most production originates in Middle and Upper Guinea. Production is predominantly rainfed, with minimal use of inputs, and is grown intercropped with other crops such as taro, potatoes, and soybeans, or in rotation with rice, cotton, and groundnuts.

Palm oil in Guinea

Palm oil is both source of food (fat) and income in Guinea. Palm oil constitutes a major source of income for rural households and is a key product in the broader regional Local production (produced and extracted using traditional methods) is complemented by refined palm oil imports from international markets and by informal cross-border trade from neighbouring countries. Local palm oil extracted from native oil palm varieties using artisanal methods is preferred and is regarded as tasting good, being healthy, good for cooking, and is affordable. Palm oil is consumed every day as in ingredient in soups, sauces, and other dishes.

Groundnuts

Groundnuts are the most widely grown leguminous crop in Guinea. Groundnuts are grown throughout the country, predominantly under smallholder production systems with minimal input use. They are consumed as whole groundnuts, pounded groundnut paste that is incorporated into many soups and stews, and groundnut oil. In fact, next to palm oil, groundnut oil accounts for a substantial portion of the edible oils consumed in the country. The crop is a central component of crop rotations and is an important source of income for many rural households). Guinea is generally self-sufficient in terms of groundnut production. The plant is often intercropped with crops such as millet and maize and it is also used as a follow-on crop to rice to enhance soil fertility. The majority of production (over 60 percent of total) takes places in Kindia, Boké, and Kankan.

Vegetables

The main vegetables produced and consumed in Guinea are tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, onions, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, and cabbage. The most productive areas are located in Maritime and Middle Guinea in the regions of Kindia, Mamou, Boké, and Labé. Vegetables are traditionally cultivated in mixed systems with other crops on small plots (less than 0.5 ha). Peppers and tomatoes are grown mainly in the “tapades,” the area surrounding a house

Irish potatoes

Irish potatoes were introduced in Guinea around the 1920s. Domestic consumption of Irish potatoes is very limited, compared to consumption of other tubers like cassava and sweet potatoes, which are more generally preferred. However, Irish potatoes are becoming increasingly relevant as a cash crop due to their export potential. In fact, Guinea exports about 60 percent of its production to neighbouring countries through informal cross-border trade.

Livestock

Guinea is a country with a strong pastoral tradition, and immense natural potential due to the diversity of its agro-ecological conditions. Animal farming remains the second activity of the rural sector after agriculture. It counts around 320,000 farmers and their families with total estimations in 2016 of 6,759,000 Cattle, 2,380,000 sheep, 2,851,000 goats, 130,000 pigs and 30,000,000 poultry. Livestock production in Guinea takes place at the small-scale household level, with very few large-scale or industrial producers. The main livestock products consumed are beef, meat from small ruminants (sheep and goat), poultry, eggs, and milk. The main species raised are cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry (local and improved), horses and insects. The herd is almost exclusively composed of local breeds: N'dama cattle (99.9% of cattle), sheep and goats Djallonkés (99.7%) characterized by their rusticity, their capacity to adapt to their environment, fertilize natural pastures and especially their resistance to trypanosomosis. Other species such as rabbits and grass cutters also exist, but in very small numbers.

Forestry

Rich in forest resources, Guinea maintains 3 million hectares of forest for conservation of biodiversity and 490,000 hectares for the protection of soil and water. However, cultivation, grazing of domestic animals, hunting and unregulated harvesting of natural resources in forest areas – coupled with logging, mining, and infrastructure development – have resulted in deforestation. Forestland comprises 27% of total land area, and protected areas comprise 6.1% (World Bank 2009a). There are four primary forest types in Guinea: (1) mangrove; (2) dense humid forest; (3) dense dry forest; and (4) wooded savannah/other. Guinea has 164,000 hectares of protected areas, making up 0.7% of total land. The country has six types of protected areas: parc national (national park) ; réserve naturelle intégrale (strict nature reserve) ; reserve naturelle gérée (managed nature reserve) ; réserve spéciale (special reserve) or sanctuaire de faune (faunal sanctuary) ; zone d’intérêt cynégétique (trophy hunting zone) ; and zone de chasse (hunting zone). Commercial logging is accelerating throughout Guinea as a result of timber exports. Local populations have historically relied on forests for wood, roots, bark, leaves, fruit, medicines, and forage for livestock. Ninety-five percent of the population uses wood for fuel. Increasing population pressures and lack of agricultural development on traditional farmland have pushed rural people to encroach on forestland to meet needs for fuel, food, and income.

Fisheries

Guinea has an extensive coastal shelf of 47,400 km², and major inland rivers and large estuaries, all of which create great potential for fishing and aquaculture. The country is watered by several major rivers with large estuaries, all carrying nutritive elements and mineral salts to the sea. Small pelagic species (bonga, short-bodied sardines, atlantic bumper, etc.) estimated at 100 000 tonnes account for the bulk of the fishery biomass, and are mostly caught by artisanal means. The rarer large offshore pelagic species comprise tunnies, considered as secondary resources. Demersal resources (fish, cephalopoda and crustacea) are caught through artisanal, and trawler fishing. Shrimps and cephalapoda are caught only through trawler fishing. Artisanal fishermen use small boats (motorized or not) and simple gear (nets, traps, hooks, lines). Industrial fisheries operate trawlers and are mainly associated with licensed foreign vessels. Conakry is the largest artisanal fishing port in Guinea. Despite a thick water network, Guinea has very few reservoirs. Hence, Guinea’s inland fishing is mostly river-based. In Moyenne Guinée and Guinée Forestière, flood plains are rare except those located in the Koliba Basin which could cover an area of 30 000 to 40 000 ha. The Haute Guinée natural region encompasses practically all of the upper Niger basin (170 000 km²). Aquaculture has the greatest potential in Forested Guinea. While fresh oceanic are sold and consumed near coastal catchment and landing areas, inland availability more limited due to their high perishability and the limited cold-chain capacity along the marketing system to facilitate distribution. Fresh fish are therefore more often consumed in areas where they are caught (Maritime Guinea). Fresh fish are consumed in stews, fried, or boiled and served as a main or side component in a variety of dishes.