The beating of drums, the rhythmic crackle of the segureh, and the dancing of women were more than mere expressions of joy — they were symbols of hope. In a landscape of land investments long marked by disorder and confusion in leasing procedures, these celebrations signified that victory was possible. They marked the culmination of eight years of determined advocacy and negotiation, during which two groundbreaking land laws were finally enacted.
Namati’s Eastern Region office received a formal request for assistance from a small village called Ngovokpahun. The community reported that an Italian agricultural company, to which they had leased a significant portion of their land, had defaulted on its payments and become unreachable. According to the villagers, the company had failed to pay rent for more than two years.
Namati took up the case and successfully located the company’s president, Dr. Roberto Mariani. After clarifying the management difficulties that had affected the business, Dr. Mariani ordered a temporary suspension of operations so he could personally resolve the outstanding issues — both administrative and community-related. However, the Ebola epidemic, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, caused further delays.
Upon his return to Sierra Leone, and after a series of meetings with the community and Namati representatives, the discussion took on a new, more collaborative tone.
For decades, land investments in Sierra Leone have been plagued by non transparent agreements, often concluded between investment companies and chiefdom councils without the effective participation of the landowning families. Excluded from the decision-making process, these families were routinely denied their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and ended up with unfavorable lease terms. They received inadequate and inconsistent compensation while suffering the environmental consequences of corporate operations — polluted water, degraded soil, and unfulfilled promises.
Commitments made by companies to build local infrastructure — roads, schools, health facilities — often went unkept.
In Ngovokpahun, landowners complained not only about inadequate payments but also suspected that Italian Agriculture had failed to measure the leased area correctly.
“We decided to push for a renegotiation of the agreement,” recalls Baindu Koroma, a Namati program officer.
The process began with a participatory land mapping exercise involving Namati, the company, the landowning families, and officials from the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning. Once consensus was reached on the total acreage involved, negotiations resumed with renewed energy.
The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted progress, but two years later, talks resumed in a new legal environment — one defined by the recent enactment of the Customary Land Rights Act (CLRA) and the National Land Commission Act.
Following a formal termination of the contract between the landowners and Italian Agriculture, Dr. Mariani proposed a more transparent and compliant solution. All subsequent negotiations were transferred to One More Seed Ltd., a company duly registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and operating in full compliance with national laws.
The new lease agreement was negotiated in accordance with the Customary Land Rights Act, designed to eliminate discrimination under customary law and ensure equitable terms for communities.
“Under the new provisions, landowners are now entitled to receive 90% of the lease payments — up from just 50% previously,” explains Baindu. “The law also requires that landowning families negotiate directly with investors, rather than through chiefdom councils.”
With these protections in place, Ngovokpahun’s landowners successfully increased their annual lease rate from US$5 to US$15 per acre — a significant step toward economic justice and community empowerment.
The signing of the new lease agreement between One More Seed Ltd. and the landowning families of Ngovokpahun stands as a landmark achievement — tangible proof that Sierra Leone’s new land laws can deliver on their promise of fairness and transparency.
It also demonstrates that responsible investors exist — companies willing to believe in the country’s future while upholding community rights and respecting the law.
A hopeful future — one that, as on that historic day, still echoes in the rhythm of drums and the dance of celebration.
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