Agriculture
A fundamental aspect of poverty in Sierra Leone is food poverty and food insecurity.
Approximately two-thirds of the populations estimated to live in rural area are subsistent farmers, and remain the poorest population in the country. 1.3 million people or 26% of the population are food poor and cannot afford a basic diet. 5.4 million hectares, or 74% of the total land area, is considered suitable for cultivation. The arable lands in the uplands are estimated at 4.3 million hectares, while about 1.1 million hectares or 90% of the lowland area is considered arable.
Malnutrition is the cause of 46% of child deaths. According to the 2000 Government household survey, 27% of children under the age of 5 are underweight, 34% sustain stunted growth and 10% wasted.

Access to food, whether from farmers own production or through purchase and barter, is constrained by many factors. These include low purchase power, poor overall macroeconomic conditions in the country, physical isolation, inadequate market and transportation infrastructure, and poor mechanized cultivation and processing facilities able to add value to agricultural products.

The ZCD Foundation seeks to complement the government's strategy by increasing productivity in food cultivation and diversification, empower poor rural and urban households to improve the food they consume, and encourage farm families to increase production. The government will support small-scale subsistence farmers who dominate agriculture to diversify and increase production, improve crop storage, feeder roads and market access while rebuilding livelihood security and creating job opportunities for young men and women. Progress and opportunities created in eradicating hunger will be critical to stabilizing the security situation and consolidate peace in post conflict Sierra Leone.