FAO Representation, Spur Road, Freetown:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in Sierra Leone, on Thursday, 2nd October 2025, hosted an inception meeting to provide an update on the commencement of the State Peace Fund Project, a complementary project to the Sierra Leone Land Administration Project.
Wuyango Bockarie Harding, Assistant FAO Representative for Programs, FAO Sierra Leone, remarked that Sierra Leone continues to face significant fragility risks due to unresolved land disputes, weak customary and statutory tenure systems, and persistent gender inequality. Bockarie remarked that land conflicts account for more than 60% of High Court cases, and remain a driver of insecurity. Despite recent reforms including the National Land Policy (2015), the Customary Land Rights Act (2022), and the National Land Commission Act (2022), implementation capacity at both local and national levels remains limited. Women, youths, and marginalised groups are especially disadvantaged in accessing and securing land rights. Thus the need for the SPF Project.
National Project Coordinator, Sahr Paul Beinya, remarked that the meeting was to provide a comprehensive update on the inception and early progress of the SPF/UTF/SIL Project: Piloting Innovative Solutions for Land Dispute Resolution in Sierra Leone. The session, according to him, aimed at reviewing the status of implementation of the Technical Assistance provided by FAO on behalf of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning (MLHCP), address emerging concerns, and agree on next steps for effective delivery in line with World Bank requirements.
The discussions were held under the framework of the SPF/UTF/SIL Project, implemented by FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Country Planning, with financial support from the World Bank.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning (MLHCP), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) – project coordination and technical team, World Bank Project Task Force Team, National Land Commission (NLC), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) engaged in land governance and community-level representation
Discussions were around:
– Progress made to date on project activities, including initial mobilisation,
– Stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives.
– Alignment of the project’s technical assistance with the Government’s land reform agenda, particularly the implementation of the new land laws.
– Concerns raised regarding timelines, coordination mechanisms, and the need for accelerated delivery of agreed outputs.
– The importance of inclusivity, with specific attention to women, youths, and other vulnerable groups in project implementation.
– Strategies for ensuring strong collaboration between FAO, MLHCP, NLC, CSOs, and the World Bank Task Force team to maximise impact and sustainability among others.
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