Chernor Musa Kabia is the CEO and Founder of Kabia Farm, the managing director at Industrial Development Group Africa, and the main distributor for the world’s largest supplier of agricultural seeds, Sakata seeds – the world’s leader in breeding and producing vegetables and ornamental seed and vegetative cuttings. Chernor Musa Kabia was born and raised in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown.
Chernor Musa Kabia attended the Eastern Municipal Primary School, where he sat the Selective Entrance Examination, now NPSE. Chernor Musa Kabia later attended the Albert Academy Secondary School. In 1996, he got admission at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) – the University of Sierra Leone, where he earned a diploma in business administration. When the civil war broke out in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, in 1999, Chernor Musa Kabia opted to leave the shores of Freetown and went to Belgium. In 2016, he got his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Atlantis International University.
Chernor Musa Kabia has been to China, Seychelles, The Gambia, Mauritius, Ghana, The Bahamas, Guinea, and South Africa. Before he started farming, in 2003, Chernor Musa Kabia was a businessman importing clothes and shoes from China to his clothing stores in South Africa and Mauritius. He was into importing clothing brands and shoes to his stores in Mauritius and South Africa till he met a group of white South African agricultural entrepreneurs that inspired him to take the path of agriculture. They discussed issues like food security and how to tackle the hunger problem in Africa. Chernor Musa Kabia told the group about his country, Sierra Leone.
In 2013, Chernor Musa Kabia and a group of white South Africans came to Sierra Leone on an agricultural business trip to embark on bio-fare agricultural activities. They were in the process and working on the project when the Ebola virus entered Sierra Leone. The program was stopped and the group from South Africa had to return back home to South Africa. But the passion and love he has for his country, Chernor Musa Kabia decided to stay. He said, “I decided to stay because I believe our country’s true potential is in agriculture – given our topography and arable land.” Chernor Musa Kabia continued by saying “Countries like Senegal is doing well in agriculture more than us when we have fertile and arable land more than them. We have more than 4 million of arable land in Sierra Leone, and enough water too. This is when I realized that I have to give back to my country.”
Chernor Musa Kabia founded Kabia Farm, an agricultural company based in Sierra Leone and the sole distributor of Sakata Seeds in Sierra Leone. The company sells the cheapest hybrid seeds in the world. The company, Kabia Farm is specialized in growing and selling fruits and vegetables – hybrid and organic, cultivating maize and sorghum, and rice farming, livestock rearing, and providing extension services to farmers in Sierra Leone. The company also sells and installs branded solar-powered drip irrigation systems, for automated irrigation. The company also link farmers in Sierra Leone to local and international markets. Kabia Farm provides quality and profitable agricultural seeds to farmers in Sierra Leone at an affordable price.
In an interview I had with him, he told me “The reason why farmers in Sierra Leone are not making a sustainable profit, is because of the seeds.” His company is the sole distributor of the world’s leading Hybrid Company, provides seeds that fit the season, seeds that have quality and durable shelf life, seeds that yield sustainable profit, and household income. His company, Kabia Farm has over 20 acres of farmland in the far west of Freetown that produce varieties of agricultural produce.
“When we farm, we enhance development. When a country feeds its population, development takes place. The passion I have for my country led me to take this step and founded the Kabia Farm to provide quality agricultural seeds and additionally provide agricultural extension services to Sierra Leonean farmers. I’m encouraging youths in Sierra Leone to embark on agriculture to curtail the problem of food insecurity in Sierra Leone. My company is open to provide them with agricultural seeds that are of quality and yield profit” said Chernor Musa Kabia
