Chairman of the Presidential Initiative for Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, has embarked on series of verification exercises within Kambia District so as to ascertain the level at which lands have been ploughed and harrowed during this planting season.
He also handed over rice milling machines and other mechanized farming tools to the farmers, signaling the seriousness attached to President Julius Maada Bio’s flagship programme called ‘Feed Salone’.
“Farming is an all-government approach. That is why I am here to give support to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Musa Kpakra, who is unavoidably absent today. I am also here to verify the number of hectares that have been ploughed and to also ascertain whether we would meet our target of cultivating 3,000 hectares of rice farm this year within Kambia District,” he said in the presence of the Chief Agriculture Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Presidential Spokesman Hon. Alpha Kanu, the District Agriculture Officer, the President of the National Federation of Farmers of Sierra Leone (NAFSL), among many other stakeholders.
He said the rice milling machines and other equipment that were handed over to the farmers were to prove that President Bio’s government was seriously serious about feeding Sierra Leone.
Dr. Yumkella noted that in Sierra Leone, some women were still in the habit of pounding rice using locally-made mortar and pestle, adding that with these rice milling machines that the government has provided, that labourious task would be eliminated among the women.
“President Bio’s government has provided the required technological support and access to finance for farmers which means that there should no longer be a bottleneck to achieving food security within the country,” he told his audience, while calling on the farmers to always provide feedbacks about the ongoing planting season to the appropriate authorities for prompt action.
He said to effectively realize the potential of the rice milling machines, there was a need for affordable cost effective energy solution, noting that President Bio’s government has made tremendous progress in that regard.
Paramount Chief of Samu Chiefdom who doubles as the Kambia District’s Chairman of the Council of Paramount Chiefs, Bai Shebora Yek II, appreciated President Bio’s efforts to eradicating hunger among Sierra Leoneans.
He took Dr. Yumkella and his delegation to some farming sites within the district and promised to support President Bio’s government initiative of feeding every Sierra Leonean.
NAFFSL’s President, Yatta Samah, said her association was the largest private sector within the Ministry of Agriculture, adding that for the ‘Feed Salone’ initiative to succeed, farmers should be considered as key partners because they were the primary producers of food.
She said the rice milling machines and other gadgets that were handed over to the farmers would help them to prevent post-harvest loses, noting that her membership was in need of capacity building so that they would be able to report any anomalies that they pick up in the field.
Presidential Spokesman, Hon. Alpha Kanu, said for the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture was focusing on farming groups led by women, was a testament that the ‘Feed Salone’ initiative was on the right track.
“This is because when women lead, hunger will go away from our homes. They are key partners that should not be overlooked in achieving food security. I encourage all of you to join the team of hardworking farmers in order to achieve food security for all,” he stated.
