Sustainable Green Team Ltd. (SGTM)

[the cork]

Corn - The maize component of the SGCP agricultural equation.

Maize, known in many English-speaking countries as corn, is a cereal grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to Europe and introduced it to other countries through trade. Maize spread to the rest of the world due to its popularity and ability to grow in diverse climates. Introduced into Africa by the Portuguese in the 16th century, maize has become Africa's most important staple food crop. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize

Images of Maize Production Sierra Leone http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=maize+sierra+leone&cp=7&biw=1152&bih=533&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Images of maize production, in Africa http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1152&bih=533&q=maize+africa&revid=1705156932&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Maize, Africa’s New World Crop

In the past two decades, rapid advance of maize as a major food crop in Africa has caught the imaginations of agricultural economists and — international policy planners. They see this as an agricultural sea change that could rival Asia’s Green Revolution of the 1970s. http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?StoryId=4887

New Maize Varieties to Boost Grain Production in West and Central Africa http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100215100755.htm

Pumping Iron Into Western Africa's Corn http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/apr03/iron0403.htm


Sierra Leone Corn Production by Year http://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?country=sl&commodity=corn&graph=production

World Food Program Summary

In 2008, Sierra Leone ranked 84 out of 88 countries in the Global Hunger Index and last out of 179 countries in the Human Development Index.

The agricultural sector contributes to over 40 percent of Sierra Leone’s GDP. In the President’s Agenda for Change (2008) the Government of Sierra Leone has declared agricultural development and food security to be the foundations for the country’s economic growth and poverty reduction. Unemployment, especially among the youth, low labour productivity, lack of irrigation, over-harvesting and inadequate access to food markets as a result of poor road infrastructure continue to be risks to food security. http://www.wfp.org/countries/Sierra-Leone/Overview

Drought-Tolerant Corn Promises to Aid Sub-Sahara African Farmers http://www.monsanto.com/ourcommitments/Pages/water-efficient-maize-for-africa.aspx

Center for Alternative Development Strategies
CADS Sierra Leone http://cads-sierraleone.org/

Sierra Leone - Agriculture http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Sierra-Leone-AGRICULTURE.html