Isaac Gyamfi, the Regional Director of Solidaridad West Africa, along with the senior management team of Solidaridad in Sierra Leone, paid a courtesy visit to Dr Alhaji Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy, and Food Security in Sierra Leone.
The meeting, which was held at State House, was to discuss potential synergies to address #food insecurity issues in the country.
Isaac briefed the team on Solidaridad’s interventions in the tree #crop sector in Sierra Leone, highlighting the significant impact made in the #cocoa, #coffee, and #cashew sectors through various programmes implemented over the years.
He also shared insights into upcoming interventions aimed at promoting clean energy and increasing food production in the country.
Isaac emphasized Solidaridad’s commitment to ensuring that commodities such as cocoa, coffee, and cashew sourced from farmers supported by Solidaridad meet the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) standards. This, he said, aligns with Solidaridad’s mission to promote sustainable practices and responsible sourcing in the agricultural sector.
Dr Alhaji Kandeh Yumkella thanked Solidaridad for its continuous support to the government of Sierra Leone over the years in improving the coffee, cashew, and coffee value chains, as well as the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across farming districts in the country.
“I am pleased that Solidaridad has been focusing on cash crops. Our farmers need to grow these crops for export, which will significantly contribute to our country’s foreign exchange earnings,” Dr Yumkella remarked.
He also emphasized the importance of targeting more women in our interventions, recognizing the pivotal role that women play in agriculture and the need to address the bottlenecks they face.
With rice being a key commodity under the Feed Salone initiative, Dr Yumkella expressed optimism that his team would collaborate with Solidaridad to implement programmes supporting the improvement of the rice value chain in the country.
He further encouraged Solidaridad to continue providing technical support to #smallholderfarmers to build resilient #farms in Sierra Leone.
