By:
Alusine Rehme Wilson – (AR-WILSON)
At
a day’s workshop organized by Agriculture Value Chain Development Project
(AVDP) in Makeni on Tuesday March 31, 2020 for Smallholder farmers, stakeholders
and other farmers group, there has been much excitement among farmers who
participated in the workshop since AVDP Project Manager, Abdulrahman Bob Conteh
announced a new project which is aimed at eradicating rural poverty through
modernizing agricultural skills, enhancing rich self sufficiency in about
34,000 rural homes and empowering women and youths in Sierra Leone.
According
to Mr. Conteh, the project will last for six years with funds from IFAD, the Government
of Sierra Leone, would be project beneficiaries plus a private sector
investment.
“We
will maintain high transparency and accountability level to ensure there is improved
crop diversification, rice self sufficiency and rural poverty reduction” he
concludes.
“Women
and Youths will have to form the bulk of the project beneficiaries and all
SMEs, ABCs, and other farmers group have equal opportunity to benefit from the
grants, all they need is to match up with the grants requirements as they have
heard and learnt from this workshop” said AVDP Grant Officer, Asmiru Jah.

The Tonkolili District Agricultural Officer, Samuel Sam and Haja Sundu Marrh, Koinadugu Vegetables Association’s Chairlady both spoke on behalf of participants and respectively made commitments to monitor and embrace the project and thus called on farmers to embrace this project with zeal.
They
acknowledge that they have indeed received a comprehensive understanding about
the project and also expressed confidence in AVDP and its partners requesting
that they speed up to launch the project soonest and starts implementation
amidst threats from COVID19.
AVDP
will receive about $5.9 million as funding and the same amount as grant from
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), $1.4 million from the
private sector, $ 8.1 million from the Government of Sierra Leone and $ 1.4
million from the project beneficiaries to improve virtually 34,000 rural homes
in Sierra Leone as part of the project package.
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