Commemoration of World Food Day in Sierra Leone
Agriculture Minister calls for the adaptation of climate-smart technologies
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Patrick Monty Jones on 28 October 2016, during the commemoration of World Food Day encouraged stakeholders to think of innovative approaches and the adaptation of new technologies that enable crops to be resilient to climate change impacts.
Jones stated that “Climate change is a reality, it is with us. So, we need to look into the future and think of ways to mitigate the potentials threats.”
For the country to achieve food security, the Minister listed among other things that, government and development partners need to invest in infrastructural development including roads and other facilities that increase the competitiveness of the country’s products; make agriculture officers abreast with the new technologies; procure improved equipment and establish more storage facilities.
The FAO Representative in Sierra Leone, Nyabenyi Tipo, stated that climate change is a fundamental threat to global food security and that its impacts is already undermining crop yields in many parts of the world including Sierra Leone. “Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and extreme weather events are affecting our ability to produce the food we need,” she added.
Tipo said that the most vulnerable groups to climate change are the small scale farmers and rural communities. “This is the same group of people we are trying to lift from poverty levels of above 50 percent so as to achieve SDG 2 by 2030. Therefore, building resilience in the communities is paramount,” she encouraged.
She informed the gathering that FAO is working with smallholder farmers and Agribusiness Centres to promote sustainable agricultural practices, climate smart agriculture, nutrition sensitive agriculture, livelihood diversification and gender inclusiveness.
The Deputy Country Director for the World Food Programme, Kinday Samba noted that, “If Sierra Leone aims to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030, climate change is a challenge that must be addressed.”
Representatives of farmer groups including the National Federation of Farmers and the Sierra Leone Women Farmer’s Forum acknowledged the effects of climate change on their productivity and appealed to government and development partners to mobilize efforts in mitigating its severe effects.
The Irish Ambassador to Sierra Leone and Liberia, Catherine Campbell stated that vulnerable groups, especially women and children, the elderly and infirm, need support to adapt to climate effects before they cause greater poverty.
“We believe that investment in sustainable agricultural practices will address climate change by increasing productivity, building resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.
World Food Day is commemorated every year on 16 October to commemorate the founding of the Organization in 1945 and promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger, and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all.
World Food Day 2016 marked the 71st anniversary of the founding of the Organization, and the 36th observance of World Food Day. This year, FAO chose the theme, “Climate is changing, food and agriculture must too”to underlie how food security needs to be prioritized in country climate action plans and to communicate how investment in sustainable agricultural practices will help to address climate change in increasing productivity, building resilience among vulnerable populations, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.