To increase research efforts, align with the country’s agricultural agenda, and define collaborative areas in Sierra Leone, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, led a high-level delegation to meet with President Julius Maada Bio and some members of the Sierra Leone government.
Emphasizing the meeting’s significance to achieving the goal of food sufficiency in Sierra Leone, DG Ehui said that President Bio’s invitation was a welcome development highlighting the strong partnership between IITA and Sierra Leone and their collective commitment to ensuring Sierra Leone’s food security.
President Julius Maada Bio welcomed the IITA team to his office in Freetown, thanking them for accepting his invitation while stressing that agriculture is the foundation of his flagship program, the Feed Salone agenda. He added that while the program has the potential to feed Sierra Leoneans, the country lacked essential elements such as technologies for best practices and improved varieties for increased yield.
The parties discussed the need to align their goals and how IITA can provide the needed support to ensure agriculture in Sierra Leone becomes more productive, generating employment for the teeming youth and stimulating economic growth.
DG Ehui reaffirmed IITA’s commitment to Sierra Leone’s agrifood systems, saying IITA stands with Sierra Leone as a steadfast ally on the path to achieving food security. “Our reach cuts across Africa and beyond, partnering with governments and organizations to uplift communities from poverty and drive sustainable development. We are in Sierra Leone to strengthen existing relationships and explore new collaboration possibilities with your esteemed office,” he said.
President Bio said, “Sierra Leone is looking for a strong seed system to boost the agriculture sector, and with Nigeria’s success in this area, partnering with IITA is remarkable and timely. Knowing that lots of experience will bear in this partnership with IITA is reassuring. We want history to know that IITA was part of our Feed Salone initiative drive.”
In another meeting with the Sierra Leone Minister of Agriculture, Henry Musa Kpaka, the IITA team reassured the Minister of their ability to support the country’s agricultural agenda.
“We can make Sierra Leone a good case study if we put our best foot forward. IITA is optimistic that with the country’s leadership and vision, the right kind of support from other quarters is possible. We are here to listen and reorient our program in Sierra Leone to align with the government’s agenda,” said IITA Development and Delivery Office Director and Sierra Leone Country Representative Alfred Dixon.
Minister Kpaka said, “As IITA was part of the Sierra Leone roadmap development, the institute’s expertise will be leveraged along with other partners. We want to deploy IITA’s youth engagement and development expertise for our country’s youth programs.”
He continued: “Sierra Leone is looking to explore the capacity building that IITA has to offer so that our youth can benefit from building not only PhDs but mid-level ranks within the National Research systems.”
While IITA has been working with the Sierra Leone government in minor efforts focusing on research development and food security programs, both parties plan to align efforts in areas like seed systems and crops like cassava and rice.
In the days ahead, IITA will deploy innovations from the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), BASICS-II, and the Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity programs to support the Feed Salone agenda.
“With the right partnerships, adequate funding, and clear demand-driven goals, we can leave a legacy of transforming agriculture and food security in Sierra Leone,” DG Ehui said.
This partnership between IITA and the Sierra Leone government could improve the livelihoods of millions of Sierra Leoneans, boost economic development, and strengthen the country’s research and agriculture sectors.
Contributed by Timilehin Osunde
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