FAOSTAT · 2024

Agricultural production in Sierra Leone

According to FAOSTAT, Sierra Leone produced 1.5 million t of cereals, 479,512 t of vegetables, 292,087 t of fruit, 48,716 t of meat and 153,285 t of milk in 2024. Its largest crops by volume were cassava (2.9 million t), rice (1.4 million t) and oil palm fruit (401,642 t).

Products recorded: 73
World #1: 0; products
World top 10: 6; products
Year: 2024

Among its twelve largest crops, the biggest ten-year change was in cocoa beans (+449%), followed by sorghum (+100%).

Livestock numbers: 682,125 cattle, 307,970 pigs, 934,780 sheep and 807,401 goats.

Totals by group

Group	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
All roots and tubers	3,200,812	46	0.34%	−17%
All cereals	1,501,593	98	0.05%	+15%
All vegetables	479,512	102	0.04%	+34%
All fruit	292,087	119	0.03%	+11%
All milk	153,285	127	0.02%	−8.1%
All citrus fruit	113,690	61	0.07%	+8.4%
All pulses	96,475	76	0.1%	+21%
All sugar crops	83,182	109	0%	+6.9%
All meat	48,716	144	0.01%	+5.6%
All eggs	11,590	111	0.01%	−3.5%
All tree nuts	2,800	86	0.02%	—

All products by volume, 2024

Product	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
Cassava	2,855,436	22	0.84%	−22%
Rice (paddy)	1,390,800	36	0.17%	+16%
Oil palm fruit	401,642	25	0.1%	+84%
Sweet potatoes	254,823	32	0.28%	+27%
Cucumbers	184,939	28	0.21%	—
Cow milk	153,285	120	0.02%	−8.1%
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	150,000	69	0.05%	−56%
Other citrus fruit, n.e.c.	113,690	8	0.85%	+8.4%
Groundnuts (peanuts)	101,389	34	0.18%	+18%
Other fruits, n.e.c.	98,173	44	0.25%	+8.8%
Cocoa beans	93,750	9	1.79%	+449%
Yams	87,620	20	0.09%	—
Palm oil	85,800	25	0.11%	+43%
Okra	84,287	13	0.64%	—
Sugar cane	83,182	77	0%	+6.9%
Other pulses n.e.c.	76,035	16	1.71%	+1.2%
Sorghum	60,000	45	0.09%	+100%
Plantains	47,238	31	0.11%	+10%
Palm kernels	42,482	19	0.22%	+70%
Chillies and peppers, green	35,478	59	0.08%	—
Mangoes and guavas	32,986	51	0.05%	+37%
Other stimulant, spice and aromatic crops, n.e.c.	30,634	10	0.92%	+77%
Maize	27,443	120	0%	+32%
Tomatoes	20,448	112	0.01%	+1.2%
Beer	19,000	137	0.01%	+8.6%
Chicken meat	18,322	128	0.01%	+14%
Oil of palm kernel	17,741	16	0.21%	+71%
Cereals n.e.c.	15,906	22	0.2%	+65%
Broad beans and horse beans, dry	14,086	32	0.23%	+919%
Groundnut oil	12,793	35	0.2%	+14%
Hen eggs	11,580	111	0.01%	−3.5%
Beef (cattle meat)	11,277	128	0.02%	−2.1%
Raw sugar	10,000	107	0.01%	+67%
Other fibre crops, raw, n.e.c.	9,505	6	1.44%	+1.6%
Rabbit meat	7,981	10	0.94%	−0.2%
Coconuts, in shell	7,838	59	0.01%	+63%
Soybeans	7,485	69	0%	—
Millet	7,444	51	0.02%	−81%
Sesame seed	7,043	43	0.11%	+110%
Molasses	5,774	100	0.01%	+189%
Tea leaves	4,800	31	0.01%	—
Kola nuts	4,790	5	1.51%	−40%
Chillies and peppers, dry	4,322	35	0.08%	+9.0%
Peas, dry	3,754	61	0.03%	+24%
Game meat, fresh, chilled or frozen	3,422	40	0.17%	+8.8%
Edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen	3,383	100	0.03%	−2.1%
Eggplants	3,000	65	0.01%	—
Taro	2,933	37	0.02%	−6.6%
Cashew nuts, in shell	2,800	25	0.07%	—
Lentils, dry	2,600	23	0.03%	—
Raw hides and skins of cattle	2,481	103	0.03%	−2.1%
Honey	2,240	64	0.11%	+189%
Coffee, green	2,208	49	0.02%	−20%
Duck meat	2,133	38	0.03%	+61%
Pork (pig meat)	1,937	129	0%	−12%
Sheep meat	1,880	108	0.02%	−6.3%
Goat meat	1,764	94	0.02%	−7.9%
Tea, packed	1,284	56	0.02%	—
Pumpkins and squash	1,020	110	0%	—
Raw hides and skins of goats or kids	549	78	0.04%	−7.9%
Cattle fat, unrendered	406	106	0.01%	−2.2%
Edible offal of goat, fresh, chilled or frozen	392	83	0.03%	−8.0%
Edible offal of sheep, fresh, chilled or frozen	376	91	0.02%	−6.2%
Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs	342	91	0.02%	−6.3%
Cabbages	340	137	0%	—
Beeswax	156	27	0.24%	+12%
Fat of pigs	102	107	0%	−11%
Edible offal of pigs, fresh, chilled or frozen	83	107	0%	−11%
Sheep fat, unrendered	51	95	0.01%	−7.3%
Tobacco, unmanufactured	48	113	0%	−9.4%
Goat fat, unrendered	39	93	0.01%	−9.3%
Eggs from other birds in shell, fresh, n.e.c.	10	39	0%	0.0%
Buttermilk, dry	1	140	0%	—

Live animals, 2024

Product	Head	World rank	Share	10-year change
Chickens	26,940,000	82	0.1%	+100%
Ducks	1,752,000	29	0.14%	+59%
Rabbits and hares	1,582,000	9	0.75%	−1.1%
Sheep	934,780	79	0.07%	+8.1%
Goats	807,401	83	0.07%	−10%
Cattle	682,125	114	0.04%	−2.6%
Horses	444,910	22	0.79%	+4.0%
Pigs	307,970	91	0.03%	+267%

Sierra Leone among the world’s producers, 2024

Share of world production by country for the largest crops of Sierra Leone, which is outlined on the map.

Product

under 0.1%0.1–1%1–5%5–15%15% or moreno data
Small island states are not drawn at this scale.

Production per person, 2024

Sierra Leone had 8.6 million inhabitants in 2024 (FAOSTAT estimate). Production of its largest products per inhabitant, compared with the world average:

Product	kg per person	World, kg per person	Ratio
Cassava	330	41.9	7.9×
Rice (paddy)	161	100	1.6×
Oil palm fruit	46.5	51.3	0.9×
Sweet potatoes	29.5	11.1	2.6×
Cucumbers	21.4	10.8	2.0×
Cow milk	17.7	97.7	0.2×
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	17.4	34.5	0.5×
Other citrus fruit, n.e.c.	13.2	1.64	8.0×
Groundnuts (peanuts)	11.7	7.05	1.7×
Other fruits, n.e.c.	11.4	4.81	2.4×
Cocoa beans	10.8	0.64	16.9×
Yams	10.1	11.3	0.9×

Production divided by population; it is not consumption, because crops are traded and used for feed, processing and industry.

Trade in agricultural products, 2024

Sierra Leone reported exports of 17 and imports of 86 of the products covered here.

Largest exports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Cocoa beans	29,271	USD 128 m	4.38	17 of 93
Palm oil	12,328	USD 12.3 m	0.99	39 of 118
Coffee, green	2,469	USD 9.3 m	3.75	46 of 131
Oil of palm kernel	2,475	USD 2.5 m	1.02	26 of 69
Lentils, dry	179	USD 545,000	3.04	51 of 104
Unmanufactured tobacco	34	USD 159,000	4.68	90 of 101
Tea leaves	32	USD 122,000	3.81	103 of 143
Other fibre crops, raw, n.e.c.	255	USD 75,000	0.29	29 of 67
Coconut oil	44	USD 50,000	1.14	65 of 94
Kola nuts	20	USD 32,000	1.60	9 of 23

Largest imports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Meat of chickens, fresh or chilled	35,992	USD 35.2 m	0.98	71 of 189
Onions and shallots, dry (excluding dehydrated)	27,703	USD 12.0 m	0.43	51 of 165
Edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen	5,740	USD 5.9 m	1.03	38 of 160
Hen eggs in shell, fresh	3,837	USD 5.8 m	1.52	58 of 184
Tea leaves	705	USD 2.5 m	3.56	102 of 191
Margarine and shortening	1,165	USD 2.4 m	2.05	112 of 189
Beer of barley, malted	1,929	USD 2.0 m	1.04	140 of 192
Wine	1,159	USD 1.9 m	1.65	128 of 192
Whole milk powder	274	USD 1.7 m	6.30	149 of 190
Whole milk, evaporated	440	USD 1.2 m	2.78	82 of 160

FAOSTAT detailed trade data, release of 23 July 2026: quantities in tonnes and values in current US dollars as reported; exports include re-exports. Only the FAO trade items that match Husfarm production pages are included: meat covers fresh or chilled meat only (frozen meat is a separate item), and processed goods such as milled rice or flour are not listed.

Questions and answers

What are the main crops produced in Sierra Leone?

By volume, the largest products of Sierra Leone in 2024 were cassava (2.9 million t), rice (paddy) (1.4 million t), oil palm fruit (401,642 t), according to FAOSTAT.

Is Sierra Leone the world’s largest producer of anything?

Not in 2024. Its highest world rank was 5th, for kola nuts.

How much cassava does Sierra Leone produce per person?

About 330 kg per inhabitant in 2024, compared with a world average of 41.9 kg (production divided by population, FAOSTAT).

What does Sierra Leone export most?

By value, its largest agricultural exports in 2024 among the products covered here were cocoa beans (USD 128 m), palm oil (USD 12.3 m), coffee, green (USD 9.3 m), according to FAOSTAT.

What does Sierra Leone import most?

By value, its largest agricultural imports in 2024 among the products covered here were meat of chickens, fresh or chilled (USD 35.2 m), onions and shallots, dry (excluding dehydrated) (USD 12.0 m), edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen (USD 5.9 m).

Where does this data come from?

Production, trade and population figures are from FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rankings, shares and per-person figures are calculated by Husfarm.

Source: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 4 November 2026. fao.org/faostat. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Charts, rankings and changes calculated by Husfarm.