The National Family Farmers Consultative Meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and other partners ended on Friday 13th December 2024 at the Pastoral Center, New Gerihun Road, Bo City on the theme, ‘Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth.’
The main aim of Family Farming (FF) is to reduce poverty among family farmers who account for over 70% of the food produced in the world.
Over 50 participants included representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry and Food security, World Food Program, SEND-Sierra Leone, Catholic Relief Services, Bo City and District Councils, GIZ, CSOs, WHH and farmers attended the meeting.
In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the European Union, through the World Rural Forum, developed and launched the National Action Plan of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming in Sierra Leone.
Currently, the National Implementation Plan is being developed, but in addition, there is need to discuss and agree on the modalities for the sustainable implementation of the Family Farming Initiative in Sierra Leone.
The IFAD Country Programme Coordinator, Mr. Joseph Brima said that he is delighted to represent IFAD at the workshop that brought together key government ministries, private sector entities, NGOs and farmers to discuss FF and its role in food security and economic growth in Sierra Leone.
He added that he is addressing the meeting with great hope and a renewed commitment to strengthening one of the most vital pillars of the nation’s prosperity—FF underscoring that agriculture is the heartbeat of Sierra Leone and that within it lies the future of the country’s economy, food security and the welfare of millions of families across the country.
According to Mr. Joseph Brima, FF is more than just a means of livelihood; it is a tradition that connects farmers to the land, strengthens communities and ensures that the wealth of the soil serves the people who nurture it articulating that across Sierra Leone, families work tirelessly on small plots, producing the rice, cassava, vegetables and other staples that sustain mankind reiterating “your dedication drives our markets, feeds our households and provides hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
The IFAD Country Programme Coordinator furthered that however, as the country celebrates the resilience of FF, the nation must also acknowledge the challenges they face such as limited access to modern tools, climate change, high costs of seeds and fertilizers, poor infrastructure and the lack of access to fair markets that are hurdles hindering progress for far too long underlining, “these challenges threaten not only the livelihoods of our farmers but also the food security of our entire nation.”
He continued that IFAD, in close partnership with other UN agencies and the government of the Republic of Sierra Leone, is working tirelessly to strengthen the capacity of farmers by improving access to modern tools and training, infrastructure, fair market, access to finance and maintaining climate smart agriculture approaches.
“Let us remember that investing in FF is not just an investment in agriculture—it is an investment in our shared future. Together, we can create a Sierra Leone where no family goes hungry, where every farmer thrives and where our agricultural potential uplifts our nation,” Mr. Brima underscored.
Officially opening the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture II, Mr. Sahr Hemore assured government’s support to FF underscoring that government needs the private sector and other stakeholders to actualize its Feed Salone Project, called on all to be Ambassadors of the Feed Salone Project and bassadors of on all to be ace the initiative.
generate foreigh exchange revealed that FF is not a new concept in the country.
The Deputy Minister II also assured that Bo District and the entire Southern Region would never be forgotten due to their unrelenting support for the SLPP government and appealed to stakeholders in the District to channel their concerns through the District Agriculture Officer.
He further recalled the 2023 celebration of World Food Day in Pujehun District during which the President launched the Feed Salone Project to produce enough foodstuffs for local consumption and export to generate foreign exchange, appealed to all to embrace the initiative, which he reiterated would succeed and urged participants to make salient inputs during the workshop to promote FF.
In his mid-year implementation report and implications for Sierra Leone, the Focal Person for the United Nations Decade of Family Farming and National Coordinator of FFP in Sierra Leone, Mr. Frank Webber revealed that FF is practiced in Sierra Leone at all levels, that the United Nations had declared the Decade of Family Farming and developed the Global Action Plan informing that over 100 countries in the world, including Sierra Leone, have developed their National Action Plans with Sierra Leone being the second in West Africa to do so after The Gambia disclosing that Brazil is the major player in the FF followed by Spain and Azerbaijan.
He further noted that Sierra Leone is yet to develop its Implementation Plan that would be done by the Ministry of Agriculture, that there are challenges to get where we are today since 2016 when the International Year of Family Farming was declared by the United Nations after the 2017 meeting in Uganda where the world in e declare the Decard of where we are today since 2016 when the ote demanded the United Nations to declare the Decade of FF.
Mr. Webber also informed that the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development came up with the Global Action Plan lamenting that much is not happening now at the national level inspite of the global support from partners. He also mentioned that the current activity is funded by IFAD through the World Rural Form.
Earlier, the representative of the Bo City Council welcomed all to the workshop, noted that Bo District is the gateway to Sierra Leone but left out of the Feed Salone Project intimating that the District is endowed with acres of bolilands.
PowerPoint presentations were also made on the Origin of UNDFF in Sierra Leone, and how it was established, the Sierra Leone National Implementation Plan and Key Challenges for Implementation.
Highlights of the workshop were group work and presentations on the benefits of engaging in UNDAFF initiatives to MAFS and to family farmers in Sierra Leone, plenary: group reporting on the way forward on strategic decisions and action points, decisions on the need for policy (ies) to enable FF to become a permanent feature of the MAFS establishment, decision on the establishment of the requisite institutional frameworks for monitoring and supervision of family farming initiatives in the country and identification of MAFS partner organizations for the execution of the Family Farming Implementation Plan. ure of the MAFFrming to become permanent ons on the benefits of engaging in ,rt and implications for
Mr. Foday Lahai Sawi served as one of the facilitators.
Other stakeholders who made salient statements included the Kenema District Agriculture Officer, Mr. Matthew Kenneh, NAara, s pite of the support from the FL President, RFCIP, AVDP, Donor Representatives, the Chief Agriculturist and the Senior Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture respectively.