Technical Assistance to Boosting Agriculture for Food Security in Sierra Leone

The implementation strategy of the BAFS programme agreed with MAFFS is mainly designed to increase ownership of all stakeholders. The aim is to move away from managing poverty towards an improved nutritional status and possibly cash income for farmers, whilst supporting foodsecurity.

Activities to support Export Cash Crops and Agricultural Diversification (including nutrition improvement) to really Boost Agriculture and Food Security are put in place with the necessary investments in capacity building (in-house for MAFFS and SLARI) and in-country through the education system to all stakeholders.

Additionally, as requested by the MAFFS, an initial support for the creation of a unique Project Implementation Unit/Strategic Advisory Unit (see result 1.1) will allow a more appropriate agricultural sector approach (through the involvement of other line ministries). It will ensure that sectoral and food security policies are jointly decided and made operational. Examples include policies related to land tenure and/or internal and export trade facilities that are normally under the mandate of other ministries.

The MAFFS also requested additional funds to start a five-year vaccination campaign. This has been included and could start once operational conditions are met (mainly internal organisation and capacity build up). The vaccination campaign will initially support the small ruminants sector and should not only cover the PPR which is considered to be the major problem but also worm and mange tick infestation, etc.

The proposed action intervention logic can be summarised as follows:

Institutional capacity building and formulation of food security strategies

The MAFFS is the main representative of the State in the agricultural and food security sectors and acts as first in all issues relevant for Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security. Strengthening MAFFS’s capacities in strategic guidance as well as its operational abilities (result 1), will allow to create a conducive environment for more efficient services to smallholders and possibly other agricultural sector stakeholders and to create a strategic and policy framework supporting private sector activities as one condition for further agricultural growth. This also aims to provide an adequate framework to reduce food insecurity. More efficient and needs oriented services in agricultural extension to smallholders are needed resulting in and spearheading the diffusion of good agricultural practices promoting sustainable land use approaches.

Support to Cashew, Cocoa and Coffee (CCC) for export

The second component (reflected in results 2.1 and 3.2) deals with all aspects of the value chains enhancement of the cash crops for export, the CCC. This component ensures continuity in activities already initiated under the A4D programme and builds partly on the results achieved in component

The proposed CCC grant will put special emphasis on further promoting sustainable cash crops directly involving the end-beneficiaries in order to increase local ownership mostly via the proposed sub-granting.

Support to environmentally sustainable agricultural diversification

The third component (reflected in results 3.1 and 3.2), via the proposed Other Crops + Livestock (OC+L) grant, will put special emphasis on promoting sustainable agriculture dealing with the diversification of food production in its two aspects of crop and livestock production as well as the promotion of agribusiness along added value chains.

Both specific objectives 2 and 3 are also part of the, among other, PRO-ACT project, a strategy to implement synergies and avoid overlapping and duplications will be part of the Candidate Monitoring & Evaluation plan.

A horizontal intervention is made available for both Specific objectives 2 and 3. This so-called Horizontal Intervention will cover objectives related to component 2 and 3 but with a specific focus on agribusiness and agroindustry. While the direct interventions of the two grants CCC and OC+L are mainly dedicated to small-scale activities, the Horizontal Intervention can additionally foster value chain and link farmers, innovative farmers and SMEs better to value chain opportunities. It further enhances the bottom-up approach and aims to support Non State Actors/Local Actors to realise their business ideas along added value chains and livestock markets development. The grant takes a bottom-up approach by mostly building on private sector initiatives for the promotion of viable agribusiness covering all different steps of an AVC. It will create additional employment opportunities and further integrate smallholders into the formal economy. It also contributes to food security by providing additional income opportunities.

BASF will give special emphasis to promoting women and youth as future entrepreneurs. Additional specific actions in the field of climate change and environment together with gender and youth will be given special attention. It is therefore considered that, within the implementation of the activities, those relating to result 3.2 will be mostly dedicated to fund specific agribusiness seed capital interventions and innovative farming. The private sector in general and farmers in particular can participate in these initiatives. Special emphasis is put on women and youth. Nevertheless, the general public and NGOs/Associations/Unions, etc. will be invited to promote this intervention via the establishment of school gardens in the public sector and/or the establishment of demonstrative farms implemented by local NGOs and as well farmer-based organisations and associations for example.

Particular attention is given to supporting women and youth, including young women, as well as to climate change and the protection of the environment