State House, Freetown, Monday 7 October 2024 – The Presidential Council for Delivering Feed Salone has briefed President Julius Maada Bio on the progress of the Feed Salone initiative. The Council highlighted achievements and emphasized the importance of climate-smart agricultural practices.
Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, Minister of Agriculture and Secretary to the Council, informed President Bio about strategic policies and partnerships developed over the past year. He noted that institutional frameworks have been established to guide the initiative's success.
Key achievements include mobilizing over $1 billion in funding and technical support for infrastructure development such as roads, bridges, and irrigation systems. A national soil mapping program was completed to provide data for optimal farming practices.
The focus on increasing rice production involves expanding cultivated areas, enhancing mechanization, improving irrigation, and providing access to agricultural financing. Investments have also been made in seed systems and innovations like rural telephony systems.
Dr. Kpaka outlined plans for the next two years: developing 16,000 hectares of Inland Valley Swamps, strengthening seed systems, scaling up livestock projects, industrializing cassava production, creating a farmer registry, and establishing insurance policies for farmers. He called for increased civic engagement in this national initiative.
President Bio expressed gratitude to the Council for their dedication and acknowledged significant progress made in one year due to collective efforts. “I have aggressively sought funding both within and outside Sierra Leone to realize the promise I made to the people,” he said.
Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh noted a reduction in food imports due to government investments through central bank credit facilities. He stressed that while Feed Salone is an end goal, developing a robust food chain system is key to sustainable food security.
Washington D.C., United States – President Julius Maada Bio praised the signing of a USD $480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Energy Compact on September 27th.
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