New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties and their associated technologies study was conducted in Sierra Leone. A purposive sampling followed by a multi-stage random sampling technique was employed to select 150 NERICA farmers from the two chiefdoms as the NERICA farmer sample frames were unknown. Quantitative data were collected with a structured questionnaire. With the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS) version 25.0 software, socio-demographic characteristics were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression to determine the socio-economic characteristics of farmers that influenced the adoption of NERICA varieties. The socio-demographic findings reveal that the bulk of the farmers (62.0%) was in their middle age, 90.0% were married, and 84.7% had no formal education. Nearly half of the farmers interviewed (49.0%) did not adopt any of the recommended production technologies, whilst 56.0% did not adopt any of the recommended post-harvest technologies. The R-square of 0.26 (P<0.0001) indicates that smallholder demographic and socioeconomic factors of farmers significantly influenced their ability to adopt the recommended NERICA varieties. The study, therefore suggests adult functional literacy programmes for the huge number of illiterate NERICA farmers and encourages them to adopt at least one of the recommended production and post-harvest technologies. Manuscript profile

The study investigated the rice post-harvest value addition competencies of Agricultural Extension Agents by the utilising the Borich Needs Assessment Model. The specific objectives sought to assess the personal characteristics of the agents, followed by their required training needs in rice post-harvest value addition. The study was done in the Southern Region of Sierra Leone which covers Bo, Bonthe, Moyamaba, and Pujehun districts. A descriptive quantitative research design that involved a survey method through a census of fifty Agricultural Extension Agents was used. Primary data were collected with a questionnaire from this population. The training needs of the agents that are required in rice post-harvest value addition technologies were analysed using the Mean Weighted Discrepancy Score (MWDS) formula of the Borich Needs Assessment model. The results were ranked and presented in tables. The results showed that the majority of the agents (84.0%) are males. Technologies such as milling paddy (MWDS=7.2769), and packaging and marketing of rice (MWDS=6.8672) ranked as the highest training needs of the agents. The study recommends an increase in the recruitment of female Agricultural Extension Agents and the provision of rice post-harvest value addition resources to improve rice quality after harvest. Manuscript profile