Agro-industrial foreign investment and rural transformation: Lessons from the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone, a €400 million agro-industrial investment by Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone (ABSL). The project focuses on sugarcane production for ethanol export and electricity generation. While the investment has provided significant infrastructure, jobs, and agricultural training, the brief highlights risks regarding land access, local skill gaps, and a lack of government oversight that limits the project's potential for comprehensive rural transformation.

• The Makeni Project has delivered substantial economic and infrastructural benefits, including the creation of thousands of jobs and the construction of approximately 440 km of roads as of June 2014. Once fully operational, the project is expected to contribute 15 MW of power to the national grid, representing roughly 20% of the total supply for the country.
• Through the Farmer Development Programme (FDP), the project has improved local food security and agricultural productivity by introducing mechanised farming, modern inputs, and vegetable gardens. Additionally, about 2,000 people participated in a 30-week 'Farmer Field and Life Schools' programme covering farming, health, nutrition, and money management.
• The project's land leasing strategy has negatively impacted local livelihoods by reducing the availability of farmland and other natural resources. Farmers whose land was leased were forced to relocate crops, and some community members reported increased difficulty accessing firewood and water.
• Local employment opportunities have been hindered by a gap between the skills required by Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone (ABSL) and the capacities of the local workforce. Furthermore, employment is heavily gender-skewed, with women making up only 10% of the workforce as of December 2014.
• A lack of government oversight and coordination has resulted in missed opportunities to maximize the project's benefits. The brief notes that the government has failed to provide complementary investments, such as small road extensions that could link isolated villages to the infrastructure built by the developer.
• The Makeni Project demonstrates that foreign direct investment (FDI) cannot replace the public sector. For agro-industrial investments to achieve sustainable rural transformation, Least Developed Countries must prioritize strengthening governance, regulatory structures, and technical coordination.

APA

Davis, M., & Fielding, M. (2015). Agro-industrial foreign investment and rural transformation: Lessons from the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SIANI-PB-2015-Makeni-Project-Sierra-Leone.pdf

Chicago

Davis, Marion, and Matthew Fielding. Agro-industrial foreign investment and rural transformation: Lessons from the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SIANI-PB-2015-Makeni-Project-Sierra-Leone.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Davis |first1=Marion |last2=Fielding |first2=Matthew |title=Agro-industrial foreign investment and rural transformation: Lessons from the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=August 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SIANI-PB-2015-Makeni-Project-Sierra-Leone.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{davis2015agroindustrial, author = {Davis, Marion and Fielding, Matthew}, title = {{Agro-industrial foreign investment and rural transformation: Lessons from the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SIANI-PB-2015-Makeni-Project-Sierra-Leone.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }